Ranchi, June 23: The national president of Indian Medical Association, M. Abbas, has travelled to many countries, but a recent tour-cum-talk invitation has left him exhausted.

To begin with, the senior doctor found that despite furnishing all details and papers on time, he was put before further scrutiny.

As the process of scrutiny continued, the senior doctor missed the deadline and could not attend a seminar in Washington, USA, organised by the American Medical Association.

Abbas is now left mulling if his religious identity had a role to play in the delay.

“They (the staff at the Calcutta consulate-general) informed me that since my destination was Washington, my name had to be approved by the authorities there. They added that the process could take two to more months,” said the perturbed doctor. Abbas first appeared for the interview on June 5. “My application was neither rejected nor approved then. The staff have played this trick perhaps because I am a Muslim,” said Abbas, a resident of Cuttack (Orissa).

“I tried to reason out with them that I am a doctor and that I wished to attend a seminar. I submitted all papers asked by them, gave them my fingerprints and Income-Tax returns. But no proof was strong enough,” he told The Telegraph over phone from Cuttack.

“When my office apprised the American Medical Association, they were taken aback as well. The authorities then wrote a letter to the deputy consul-general in Calcutta. But it was too late,” the IMA boss said.

“I have travelled to many places without trouble. A few days ago, I visited Australia. I would be travelling to London next at the invitation of the British Medical Association to attend a meeting on July 4,” Abbas said.

He adding that this was the first time that he felt the significance of being from a particular community travelling to the US.