naveen mishra
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2013
- Messages
- 1,473
- Reaction score
- -3
- Country
- Location
BJP politicians to lead India’s Haj delegation | Arab News — Saudi Arabia News, Middle East News, Opinion, Economy and more.
Two senior politicians from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will represent India at Haj 2014.
Arif Beg from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, and Abdul Rasheed Ansari from Delhi are among the few Muslim faces in the party. Beg is a former federal minister while Ansari is president of the party’s minority wing.
The two will arrive in Jeddah on Monday.
In the past, the Haj delegation from India used to be a big jamboree. It would consist of more than 20 members, including ministers, judges, journalists, lawyers, academics and even politically connected barbers. They had to be put up in some of the best hotels in Makkah and Madinah at the Indian government’s expense.
Because of the political connections of the delegates, the Indian diplomats had to cater to all their needs, including ferrying them to the holy places. The Indian Haj mission officials had to focus more on the “high-powered” delegates than the pilgrims who needed them most.
The practice ended in 2012 after India’s Supreme Court ordered the government to stop sending large delegations at government expense. As a result, last year, senior Congress politician Ghulam Nabi Azad was the only delegate to represent India at the Haj. He was joined by Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao.
Of the 100,000 pilgrims coming through the Haj Committee of India, 91,000 have landed in the Kingdom. “They are in good health,” Indian Consul General B.S. Mubarak told Arab News on Friday. “India has deputized 139 Indian doctors for Haj duty.”
Mubarak said the “Indian Haji Accommodation Locator,” an Internet-based easy-to-use and free-to-download smart phone application that he launched a month ago, is coming in very handy to guide missing pilgrims to their accommodation in Makkah.
“The app, which can be downloaded for free via Google Play Store and iTunes, is doing great, it is being extremely useful and helpful,” said Mubarak. “Thousands have downloaded it through Google Play Store.”
He said the Haj mission’s plan is going according to plan. “So far, everything is hassle-free. Alhamdulillah.”
Praising the role of Indian volunteers, he said they are doing a commendable job. “As we speak, they have assisted 57,000 pilgrims in different ways,” he said.
Two senior politicians from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will represent India at Haj 2014.
Arif Beg from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, and Abdul Rasheed Ansari from Delhi are among the few Muslim faces in the party. Beg is a former federal minister while Ansari is president of the party’s minority wing.
The two will arrive in Jeddah on Monday.
In the past, the Haj delegation from India used to be a big jamboree. It would consist of more than 20 members, including ministers, judges, journalists, lawyers, academics and even politically connected barbers. They had to be put up in some of the best hotels in Makkah and Madinah at the Indian government’s expense.
Because of the political connections of the delegates, the Indian diplomats had to cater to all their needs, including ferrying them to the holy places. The Indian Haj mission officials had to focus more on the “high-powered” delegates than the pilgrims who needed them most.
The practice ended in 2012 after India’s Supreme Court ordered the government to stop sending large delegations at government expense. As a result, last year, senior Congress politician Ghulam Nabi Azad was the only delegate to represent India at the Haj. He was joined by Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao.
Of the 100,000 pilgrims coming through the Haj Committee of India, 91,000 have landed in the Kingdom. “They are in good health,” Indian Consul General B.S. Mubarak told Arab News on Friday. “India has deputized 139 Indian doctors for Haj duty.”
Mubarak said the “Indian Haji Accommodation Locator,” an Internet-based easy-to-use and free-to-download smart phone application that he launched a month ago, is coming in very handy to guide missing pilgrims to their accommodation in Makkah.
“The app, which can be downloaded for free via Google Play Store and iTunes, is doing great, it is being extremely useful and helpful,” said Mubarak. “Thousands have downloaded it through Google Play Store.”
He said the Haj mission’s plan is going according to plan. “So far, everything is hassle-free. Alhamdulillah.”
Praising the role of Indian volunteers, he said they are doing a commendable job. “As we speak, they have assisted 57,000 pilgrims in different ways,” he said.
