NEW DELHI — In a significant development, the government of India has decided to hand over responsibility of overall Haj arrangement to Ministry of Minorities Affairs (MoMA) headed by Najma Heptulla, a reliable source said here. Presently, the Haj Cell comes under the purview of Ministry of External Affairs. Almost 1,40,000 Indians perform Haj every year. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has decided to hand over the Haj Cell to the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA)," the source said. It was an issue the UPA government has been sitting over through its two terms and successive ministers have fought over it for nearly a decade. But the NDA government has put an end to this dithering matter by issuing a notification in this regard from the Cabinet Secretariat. "Various ministers who were in charge of the MoMA had been demanding that anything and everything related to the minorities should be entrusted to it. The Ministry was created with this special purpose in mind and now the government has taken the decision," the source said. "The government feels that the handing over announcement would augur well for boosting its image as minority friendly," the source added. The Haj Cell handles the annual Haj pilgrimage, which is partly funded by the government, to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. The MEA had been opposed to the long-standing proposal, arguing that it involves dealing with a foreign country. Even after the jurisdiction passes to the MoMA, the MEA, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, and the consulate at Jeddah would be involved in dealing with all issues requiring delicate negotiations. A few Muslim organizations, including the Delhi Urdu Academy, Tawheed Educational Trust, and All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat had opposed transfer of Haj to Ministry of Minority Affairs, saying that such a move would take away the diplomatic edge the Haj Cell holds currently under the MEA. It is worth mentioning here that President Pranab Mukherjee in his address to Parliament today lauded efforts of MoMA in the uplift of minorities. The president said, "20,000 madrasa children are undergoing skill training under 'Nayi-Manzil' scheme in the country." The World Bank while appreciating this scheme has given a 20 million dollar loan for its effective and smooth implementation.
