Govt decides to do away with VIP Haj quota

India

pti-PTI

New
Delhi,
Jan
11:
The
government
has
decided
to
do
away
with
the
discretionary
Haj
quota
that
was
available
with
people
in
top
constitutional
posts
and
the
minority
affairs
ministry,
Union
minister
Smriti
Irani
said
on
Wednesday
while
asserting
that
the
step
has
been
taken
as
part
of
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi’s
resolve
to
end
‘VIP
culture’.

Minority
Affairs
Minister
Irani
hit
out
at
the
Congress-led
UPA
government,
saying
the
discretionary
quota
was
introduced
during
its
period.

“A
decision
has
been
take
(to
end
discretionary
quota
in
Haj).
Prime
Minister
Modi
had
put
forward
his
resolve
to
end
VIP
culture
on
the
very
first
day
of
his
term.
VIP
culture
was
put
in
place
with
respect
to
Haj
during
the
UPA
rule
under
which
there
was
a
special
quota
allocated
to
the
Ministry
of
Minority
Affairs,
Haj
Committee
and
all
those
in
top
constitutional
posts,”
she
told
TV9
Bharatvarsh
here.

“The
President,
Vice
President,
me
(have
all
dedicated
it
to
the
people).
The
Haj
Committee
was
urged
to
end
this
quota
and
all
the
Haj
committees
in
various
states
supported
this.
This
VIP
culture
has
been
ended
in
the
Haj
process,”
Irani
said.

Setting
up
of
Haj
Committees:
State
to
inform
SC
in
two
weeks

She
said
that
when
it
was
started
in
2012,
there
were
around
5,000
seats
under
this
special
quota
and
if
one
knew
someone
in
the
government,
one
would
be
given
a
special
category
seat.

“The
government
has
ended
that…
The
PM
believed
that
if
we
have
to
do
away
with
VIP
culture
completely
then
if
there
is
any
such
special
categorisation
in
any
department,
it
should
be
ended,”
Irani
said.

She
also
said
an
exhaustive
Haj
policy
reflecting
the
PM’s
resolves
and
one
that
will
take
care
of
the
poor’s
needs
would
be
announced
in
the
future.