Govt increases Huj subsidy to Rs 1.1 lakh

NEW DELHI: In a move that is certain to invite criticism from the Sangh Parivar, the Manmohan Singh government on Thursday decided to increase the subsidy cover for those keen on undertaking the Haj pilgrimage from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.1 lakh.

With elections to five crucial states, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Goa and Manipur round the corner, the decision is being seen as yet another attempt by the Congress-led UPA to endear itself to the Muslim community.

Union finance minister P Chidambaram, while presenting the annual budget for the year ’06-07, had set aside Rs 279 crore as Haj travel subsidy for those willing to undertake the trip to Saudi Arabia during the year.

The move is likely to invite judicial scrutiny. It was only in September this year that the UPA government’s ‘secular’ credentials came in for a critical gaze with the Supreme Court interrogating the Centre on whether secularism, a basic feature of the Constitution, allowed it to grant largesse for the annual Haj pilgrimage.

It, at the same time, asked the Allahabad High Court to expeditiously hear and decide, preferably before next year’s Haj pilgrimage, a PIL filed by a Shiv Sena activist way back in 1995 seeking a direction to the Centre to stop subsidies for all religious pilgrimages.