Hajj Quota: Government Blames Private Operators Delay
Recently, Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut down India’s private Hajj quota by 80% had created significant disruption among the pilgrims and the tour operators. Following the issue, several opposition leaders had voiced their concern and urged the central government to look into the matter.
In response, the Ministry of Minority Affairs further added that they had consulted the Saudi authorities regarding the issue and that they had agreed to re-open the Hajj portal for another “10,000” pilgrims.
Read also: Why Saudi Slashed 80% Private Hajj Quota For India
“Haj arrangements are done as per Saudi rules, regulations, and their timeliness. HCOI and CGI completed all the work for 1,22,000 pilgrims on time. Unfortunately, the private operators could not finalise the contracts and make payments as per the advanced Saudi timelines this year. No extension of time was also allowed this year by the Saudi Govt. The Govt. of India took up the matter with the Saudi Govt,” Rijiju posted on X.
He, in the post, also requested not to play politics with the religious Hajj issue as well.
“The Saudi Haj Ministry has given a window and opened the Nusuk portal to the private operators to complete their work based on the current space availability in Mina. We urge all the private operators (CGHOs) to finalise their contracts and upload all documents on the Saudi Nusuk portal in the extended time period allowed,” the post read.
The sudden decision from the Riyadh government has caused panic among the pilgrims who were preparing for the journey. The decision was announced on April 13.
Read also: Saudi Arabia Bans Visas For 14 Countries Including India: Here’s Why
Over the last few years, a quota of 1.75 lakh pilgrims has been allotted to India, of which 1.25 lakh go through the Haj Committee, while the rest go through private operators. However, with the Saudi government tightening the rules this year and closing the portal for private tour operators, the fate of over 50,000 such private pilgrims was in jeopardy.
A few weeks ago, Saudi Arabia had also decided to temporarily suspend issuing visas to 14 countries, including India, till mid-June 2025.
