Centre ends Haj subsidy to 'empower minorities'

New Delhi: Thousands of Muslims who go on Haj pilgrimage each year will no longer get subsidised or cheaper air tickets, the government said on Tuesday. The big move would help empower Muslims with dignity, said union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, adding, "We believe in empowerment without appeasement."

The minister said despite Haj subsidy being withdrawn, a record 1.75 lakh Muslims would go on the pilgrimage this year after Saudi Arabia increased India's quota by 5,000.

"Muslims didn't benefit from it. Development with dignity is what we believe in. The subsidy will be used for educating girls," Naqvi said.

The government had spent over Rs 250 crore last year on subsidising the annual pilgrimage of Muslims to Saudi Arabia, he said.

The decision is in line with a 2012 Supreme Court order, asking the government to do away with the subsidy, which had long been sought by the BJP.

The BJP had cited the subsidy as an example of "Muslim appeasement" by parties such as the Congress.

Following the order, the subsidy was being gradually reduced every year.

Asked if the subsidy withdrawal will make the cost of the pilgrimage too high for many Muslims, Naqvi said the government was making efforts to bring it down.

The Saudi Arabian government has agreed to allow Indians to go on Haj by the sea route and officials of the two countries will work out the modalities, he said.

Haj pilgrims from certain regions will have an additional option to choose from where they want to fly to Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage, he said and claimed that this would bring down the cost by up to 70 percent on some routes.

Naqvi also pointed out how the travel cost for Haj varies from different embankment points. "From Srinagar, it cost Rs 1.6 lakh, while for Haj-bound pilgrims from New Delhi or Mumbai it comes to Rs 60,000. Therefore the government used to provide extra Rs. 1 lakh subsidy to Air India while a pilgrim had to pay the basic Rs 60, 000 travel cost," the minister said.

The minister said, in a first, over 1,300 women would go on Haj without a 'mehram' (male guardian), a practice done away with from this year.

Woman Haj assistants would accompany them, and the government has made arrangements for their stay in Saudi Arabia, he said.

Naqvi said his ministry is organising an event in Lucknow on January 18 in which he and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will speak on "empowering minorities without appeasement". Minority affairs ministers of nine states will attend the event.

He also cited a host of measures, such as providing jobs and job opportunities to 8.5 lakh minority youth and scholarships to 1.83 crore students, to claim that the BJP-led NDA government has been working to empower minorities.