Asaduddin Owaisi slams govt over Haj subsidy withdrawal

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president and Hyderabad Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi said the Central government decision to slash the Haj subsidy was nothing but sheer propaganda politics of the BJP.

Reacting to the government move, Owaisi said in this year’s budget, the government had allocated only Rs 200 crore for the Haj subsidy whereas as in 2012, the Supreme Court had ordered to abolish it gradually by 2022.

“I have been demanding to abolish Haj Subsidy since 2006, and have been asking government to make pre and post-matric scholarship “demand driven” for minority students. If this government really believes in empowerment of minorities, then they have to give scholarships to all eligible students of minority communities,” he added.

“We have to see what amount this government will allocate for the education of minorities particularly Muslim minority students in the next budget,” he said.

Asad has raised 10 points and said that if the Haj subsidy was



termed as “appeasement” by BJP and Sangh Parivar, then what would the UPA government’s allocation of Rs 1,150 crore in 2014 for the Kumbh Mela mean. He also said that in 2016, the Culture ministry of the Modi government had provided Rs 100 crore for the Simastha Maha Kumbh of Madhya Pradesh whereas the State government spent Rs 3,400 crore on the same event.

The MIM leader said the Yogi government in UP had allocated Rs 800 crore for the pilgrimage of Kashi, Ayodhya and Mathura and in Karnataka, the Congress government was giving Rs 20,000 each to those who wanted to go on the Chardham Yatra.

Owaisi also said that in UP, the State government had announced a statue of Lord Ram, while the BJP and Congress governments in various States were also giving salaries to priests and allocating funds for renovation of temples. “When the tax payers’ money is being spent on such kind of activities and this is not considered as “appeasement” then why should be there “hungama” on Haj Subsidy”, he asked.