the goan I network
MARGAO
Saying that the Congress had done nothing for the Haj pilgrims during its long rule in the country, Chairman of the Goa Haj Committee Sheikh Jina on Friday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government for the host of measures aimed at streamlining Haj pilgrimage for the Indian Muslims.
He also thanked TCP Minister, Vijai Sardesai, Union Minister Sripad Naik, South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar for getting back the embarkation point in Goa for the Haj pilgrims after the intervention of Union Minority Affairs Minister Muktar Abbas Naqvi.
Addressing the media, Jina said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention with Saudi Arabia rulers has ensured that women can now go for the Haj pilgrimage independently without any accompaniment. He further said that the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Saudi Prince has ensured that additional 25,000 Indian Muslims can now undertake the Haj pilgrimage annually, taking the number of Haj pilgrims who can travel to Mecca to two lakh.
Saying that the centre has now allowed Goa as an embarkation point for Haj pilgrims, Jina said that the centre has given the facility taking into account the hardships being faced by the pilgrims from Goa and the neighbouring areas of Karnataka. “The issue was raised by TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai, who insisted that Goa should remain as an embarkation point for the Haj pilgrims. Accordingly, I along with Union Minister Shripad Naik, MP Narendra Sawaikar called on the Union Minister Muktar Abbas Naqvi, who understood the issue and conceded Goa as a Haj embarkation point’, Jina added.
While saying that the BJP has addressed most of the issues affecting Haj pilgrims during the last five years what Congress could not do over the last so many decades, Jina accused the Congress for only using the Muslim community as a vote bank.
