Congress MLA Arif Masood here on Monday demanded to reduce the Haj pilgrimage fare within two days or he would resign from the membership of Haj Committee. He alleged that the government committed a big fraud with the Hajis by increasing the fares.

While talking to media persons, Masood said that only a few days are left for the Haj flight to start, but the Central Haj Committee has increased the fare for the Haj pilgrims, rather there is a difference of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

Bhopal MLA and Madhya Pradesh State Haj Committee member Arif Masood has not only expressed displeasure over the arbitrary fare hike for Haj pilgrims, but has also requested the Central Haj Committee Chairman and Union Minister for Minorities to withdraw the hiked fare, saying that the government has cheated the Haj Pilgrims a lot by not informing them about the increased amount at the time of filling the form.

Masood further said that the assembly elections are going on in Karnataka and to woo the voters, the fare for Haj pilgrims going from Bengaluru has been kept the lowest in the country. On the other hand, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish is engaged in uniting the opposition, so Modi has paid the rent for the maximum number of Hajis there. Pilgrims going from Bengaluru will have to spend Rs 303921 per person, while pilgrims going for Haj from Gaya in Bihar will have to spend Rs 400366 lakh.

Similarly, the pilgrims going for Haj from Bhopal will have to pay Rs 3,72,815 while the pilgrims going for Haj from Mumbai will have to pay Rs 3,4,843 only. The difference of Rs 68,000 between Bhopal and Mumbai travel shows how the government wants to benefit its favorite airline companies in the name of Haj pilgrims.

Talking to reporters further, Bhopal MLA Arif Masood said that the order issued by the Central Haj Committee regarding the fare of Haj pilgrims is a conspiracy with the pilgrims of the country, when Union Minister Smriti Irani, in the UPA government, took the cylinder for an increase of Rs 5. She used to come on the streets, but today an increased amount is being collected from the Hajis related to her department, why is she keeping silent on this issue?

There was a difference of about Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 when going on Haj pilgrimage from Mumbai, but now the difference has increased to more than Rs 68000. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is from Madhya Pradesh, even after this he did not cut the fare of Hajis of Madhya Pradesh. It seems that he has nothing to do with the people of Madhya Pradesh.

Hajis going on Haj are being looted by increasing the fare. “Today, I have written a letter to the Chairman of the Central Haj Committee, Abdulla Kutty, informing that if the order of increased fare for Haj pilgrims is not withdrawn within two days, I will resign from the membership of the State Haj Committee and I advise that the government is not listening to you, so you should also resign,” he added.