Haj subsidy scrapped to please Israeli PM, says Congress leader Shabbir Ali

Hyderabad: Congress leader Mr Mohammed Ali Shabbir, criticised the decision to scrap the Haj subsidy as a “hasty and blatant anti-Muslim act” by the NDA government.

“It has been done to please the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is presently touring the country,” he said.

Reacting to the cancellation of the Haj subsidy for 2018 Hajis, Mr Shabbir Ali said that the minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s announcement had come as a shock for nearly 1.75 lakh Hajis from India whose applications have been processed and are ready for their journey in a few months.

He said that the minister’s statement that the Haj subsidy was scrapped for the sake of empowering Muslim women indicated that the NDA was not interested in spending on the Muslim minority community and pleading lack of funds.