Minority affairs minister pleads Haj operators’ case to PM

The issue of cancellation of licenses of 168 private Haj tour operators by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) figured at the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and state Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and minority affairs minister Naseem Arif Khan on Saturday in Mumbai.

The travel operators, of which around 70 are based in Mumbai, have already challenged the MEA notification in the Bombay High Court, banning them from taking pilgrims for Haj. The final hearing is later this week.

Khan said that over 10,000 people had already booked their pilgrimage through these private tour operators.

“We have asked the Prime Minister to directly intervene in the matter as it is a sensitive issue,” said Khan. This year, around 1.25 lakh pilgrims from India will travel to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina with the assistance of the Haj Committee, which charges Rs1.25 lakh per person. Another 45,000 have made their travel plans through private tour operators who charge Rs2 lakh or more per head.

However, the MEA derecognised private travel operators just a few weeks before the Haj. Tour operators said that the MEA laid down unjust conditions that they could not meet.