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More than 42,000 Hajj pilgrims left in lurch, Rijiju urged to step in
Siddiqui had received representations on the issue from All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board that only around 10,000 of 52,507 pilgrims, who had opted for travel to Mecca through private operators, were able to register to proceed with their journey between June 4 and 9.
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Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju (PTI Photo)Flagging “restlessness in the Muslim community” after 42,000 Hajj pilgrims who had booked their travel through private operators were “left in the lurch”, BJP’s national minority morcha Jamal Siddiqui has appealed to Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to intervene.
Siddiqui had received representations on the issue from All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board that only around 10,000 of 52,507 pilgrims, who had opted for travel to Mecca through private operators, were able to register to proceed with their journey between June 4 and 9.
Demanding action against private tour operators, Siddiqui wrote to Rijiju: “For the 2025 Haj pilgrimage, 52,507 seats were part of the quota of private tour operators. But due to their negligence and incapability, the Saudi government had done away with this quota. After your efforts, only a quota of 10,000 seats could be achieved.”
Siddiqui said, “For such negligence related to such pious work, the quota under private operators should be cancelled for good, given to the Hajj Committee (of India) and the responsible private tour operators should be issued fines in addition to being blacklisted…”
A senior BJP leader aware of the issue said, “Prerequisites were supposed to be done through the Saudi Arabia government-run online portal, NUSUK, which is no longer accepting applications, leaving more than 42,000 such pilgrims who have made flight arrangements, in the lurch.”
On April 15, the Ministry of Minority Affairs said that these quotas are finalized by the Saudi authorities closer to the time of the pilgrimage and the Ministry, through the Haj Committee of India, manages arrangements for the bulk of the quota allotted to India, which is 1,22,518 in the current year.
“Due to changes in Saudi guidelines, more than 800 Private Tour Operators were consolidated into 26 legal entities termed Combined Haj Group Operators (CHGOs), by MoMA this year… the Haj quota was allocated by MoMA to these 26 CHGOs well in advance. However, despite reminders, they failed to comply with the necessary timelines set by the Saudi authorities and failed to finalise the mandatory contracts…
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“Due to the government’s intervention, the Saudi Haj Ministry has agreed to reopen the Haj Portal (Nusuk Portal) to all CHGOs to complete their work in respect of 10,000 pilgrims based on the current space availability in Mina,” it had said.
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