Photo: Sonu Mehta/HTMumbai: The Centre would abolish the subsidy for Haj pilgrims in accordance with a Supreme Court order, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on Saturday. “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 told PTI. The ministry of minority affairs had, earlier this year, constituted the committee to review the existing Haj policy and suggest a framework for a new Haj policy for 2018-22. The panel also recommended an amendment in the Haj Committee Act to extend ‘Umra’ and ‘Ziyarat’ to Syria, Iran Iraq and Jordan.

Source: Mint October 07, 2017 17:26 UTC