'Should have been done long ago': Twitterati welcome govt's decision to end Haj subsidy

The Narendra Modi government on Tuesday announced that it was ending the practice of providing subsidy to Muslims for Haj pilgrimage. Announcing the move, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said a record number of 1.75 lakh Muslims will undertake the pilgrimage this year from India without the subsidy. 

The move is in accordance with a 2012 order of the Supreme Court which had directed the government to gradually eliminate the subsidy before 2022. 

A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai had also quoted from the Holy Quran which mandates Haj pilgrimage only for those who are able to afford expenses for travel, food and stay. 

The government's decision has been welcomed by all, especially the Muslim community. 

Here are some of the tweets welcoming the move: 

The haj subsidy subsided Air India not the HAjis.
Open the air for all & get prices of haj package down.
An umrah package with Medina stay where there's no monopoly costs 55-70k for a weeks stay.
The haj for same time with Mina and Arafat ( tent stay) costs 3- 4lakhs https://t.co/GljA2wr6QQ

— Rana Safvi رعنا राना (@iamrana) January 16, 2018

Withdrawing the #Hajj subsidy is a welcome decision by the government. It should have been done away with long ago. No need for subsidy to perform a personal obligation.

— Shujaat Bukhari (@bukharishujaat) January 16, 2018

#Haj Subsidy this year it is 200 crore & it would have been phased out by 2022 as per Supreme Court order,since 2006 I have been demanding that should be removed & used for Muslim girls education upliftment

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) January 16, 2018

I have been demanding end to Haj subsidy for a long time. Welcome move.
IndianMuslims need no subsidy but demand their rights as equal citizens of Democratic India. https://t.co/NMEGBIgECW

— shahid siddiqui (@shahid_siddiqui) January 16, 2018

Dear BJP, kindly do not ‘empower’ us by removing Haj subsidy. Dear Congress, kindly recall that we never asked you to ‘appease’ us with Haj subsidy. Dear both, kindly leave us alone, and focus on development. Sincerely, Indian Muslim

— Irena Akbar (@irenaakbar) January 16, 2018

Have spoken to a lot of people in the past couple of hours. Most of them have said that scrapping the subsidy is a good thing, The issue of open tenders is being spoken about. Also, that haj is mandatory on only those who can afford to make the pilgrimage. #Hajj #HajSubsidy

— Syed Mohammed محمد (@syedmohammedd) January 16, 2018

Hajj subsidy for Indian pilgrims = Rs 650 crore. Subsidy per pilgrim Rs 43k.
Return airfare for Hajj flight (ex-Delhi by @airindiain) = Rs 73k. Ticket cost by Saudi airlines = Rs 28K. Difference in fare= Rs 45k. That's where subsidy went all these years @naqvimukhtar

— Inayat Jehangir (@Jehangir_Inayat) January 16, 2018

Withdrawal of #Haj subsidy is a welcome step. Subsidy defeats the purpose of Pilgrimage.
Let's use it on education.

— Shahid Choudhary (@listenshahid) January 16, 2018

Instead of appeasing the minorities, Govt. believes in empowering them and works for their welfare. The decision of withdrawing #Hajj subsidy is a part of Govt's policy to redirect funds for providing quality educational facilities to girls & women of the community. pic.twitter.com/MopZfgnG79

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) January 16, 2018

So now, Haj subsidy funds will be used for educational empowerment of girls & women of minority community. Well, Govt should not use it in Madrasas. #Hajj money was not coming from only Minority, It's Indian taxpayers money. So use it equally for education welfare of all Indians.

— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) January 16, 2018

Good decision on #Hajj but not enough. The very category of majority-minority is divisive. Scholarships, schemes based on religious identity, like #NaiManzil, are equally appeasement. @narendramodi @AmitShah https://t.co/q8kvw71sT2

— Sankrant Sanu सानु (@sankrant) January 16, 2018

No more #Hajj subsidy. Wasn’t much, but was religion specific appeasement. Brave but welcome and historic move.

— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) January 16, 2018

Great decision by Modi Govt to End Haj Subsidy and use it on education of Muslim Girls.

I also sincerely urge Modi ji to End all Subsidies given to Hindu Pilgrimage and use it to empower Hindu Girls too. 

Modi has completely forgotten about us Hindus.#HajSubsidyEnds #Hajj

— Keerthi (@TheDesiEdge) January 16, 2018