New Delhi: There will be no subsidy for Haj
from this year, minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
said today.
Naqvi told reporters that despite the subsidy withdrawal,
a record number of 1.75 lakh Muslims will undertake the
pilgrimage this year from India.
Naqvi also said that the Saudi Arabian government has in
principle agreed to allow Haj journey from India by ships and
officials of the two countries will sit together to finalise
the modalities.
"This is part of our policy to empower minorities with
dignity and without appeasement," Naqvi told reporters and
cited a host of measures for the welfare of minorities.
Earlier this year, Naqvi had said that the Centre would
abolish the subsidy for Haj pilgrims in accordance with a
Supreme Court order.
"A constitutional bench of the Supreme Court had, during
the Congress regime in 2012, directed that the Haj subsidy be
done away with. Hence, in the new policy, as per the
recommendations of a committee, we have decided to do away
with the Haj subsidy gradually," he had said.
PTI
