Jeddah: Two Indian Haj official delegations, one, the Indian Haj Goodwill delegation, and the other, the Indian Haj Committee delegation were busy in the holy city of Makkah and Mina valley in field visits to various camps and meeting with local officials.
The Goodwill delegation was approved by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and another delegation of the Indian Haj Committee also visited holy cities to oversee the arrangements made for Indian pilgrims.
Unlike in the past with jumbo goodwill delegation members, this time, politicians from various partner political parties at the center were busy in luxurious hotels and shopping in Jeddah and holy cities. This time, low numbered delegation is hectically busy for the purpose which they came for Saudi Arabia.
Reflecting long-standing political favouritism of the government of the day, this year’s Indian Haj goodwill delegation is composed of BJP leaders including women. In the past, it was the choice of Congress and its allies.
Interestingly, an AIMIM MLA from Maharashtra was on the Indian Haj Committee. Malegaon MLA, Mohammed Ismail Abdul Khalique skipped the crucial season of the Maharashtra Assembly to elect the speaker and came to Makkah.
AP Abdullah Kutty, vice president of BJP national executive committee and former Lok Sabha member from Muslim dominant Kannur in Kerala is chairman of Haj Committee of India, who is leading the goodwill delegation.
He flew to Jeddah immediately after attending the recently concluded BJP national executive meeting held at Hyderabad.
Kutty, who served as MLA also in the past and joined BJP after spending time with congress and CPM, is chairman of the India Haj Committee. Kutty along with his delegation met with Saudi deputy Haj and Umrah minister Dr. Abdul Fattah bin Sulaiman Mashat to discuss services for Indian Haj pilgrims.
Mahfouza Khatun, former CPM MLA from Kumarganj in Muslim dominant Dinajpur in West Bengal, also, vice-chairperson of the Indian Haj Committee, is a member of the delegation. Mahfouza is an office-bearer in the West Bengal unit of the BJP.
Munwari Begum, another vice-chairperson of the Indian Haj committee is also among the delegates. She is the National vice president of BJP Minority Morcha and a close aide of BJP leader Moqtar Abbas Naqvi.
Munwari Begum, hailing from Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu is a long-time BJP leader who translated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches from Hindi into Tamil during his visits to Tamil Nadu in 2014.
Kashmiri youth leader, Aijaz Hussain also represents the Indian delegation. He gave BJP its first break in the District Development Council (DDC) polls in Kashmir by winning from the Khanmoh area of Srinagar, a Shia-dominated locality.
He was up against candidates of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, a seven-party alliance that seeks the restoration of Article 370 and statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, according to reports.
From the Bureaucratic side, Nigar Fatima of the minority affairs ministry in the Government of India is coordinating the Haj operations with the Indian consulate in Jeddah.
Nigar Fatima, originally from the ministry of defense, is on deputation to the ministry of minority affairs and working as joint secretary. She is the one responsible for Haj and some other key divisions in the ministry.
She had earlier worked as a private secretary to Prakash Javadekar when he was HRD minister.
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