Saudi Arabia reopens Haj portal for Indian pilgrims after government intervention
New Delhi, April 16, 2025: In a significant development for Indian Hajj pilgrims, the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) on Tuesday announced that the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has agreed to reopen the Haj (Nusuk) Portal for Combined Haj Group Operators (CHGOs). This will allow up to 10,000 pilgrims to proceed for Hajj 2025, based on the current availability of space in Mina.
The decision follows the Indian government’s urgent intervention after reports emerged that thousands of Indian pilgrims risked being excluded from this year’s Hajj pilgrimage. According to a press release from the Ministry of Minority Affairs, urgent instructions have been issued to the CHGOs to complete the necessary formalities without delay to secure arrangements for their respective pilgrims.
Earlier this month, it was reported that nearly 52,000 Indian pilgrims were left in limbo after the Saudi authorities cancelled several zones in Mina previously allocated to private tour operators. These zones are crucial as Mina, the tent city, is one of the key ritual sites during the five-day pilgrimage.
The Ministry said that a quota of 1,75,025 pilgrims has been allotted to India by Saudi Arabia for the 2025 Hajj season. According to the Hajj Policy for 2025, 70 per cent of this quota is managed by the Hajj Committee of India, while the remaining 30 per cent is distributed among private tour operators, including the CHGOs.
However, 26 CHGOs who were allotted the remaining quota failed to meet key deadlines set by Saudi authorities. They reportedly did not finalise contracts for essential arrangements such as Mina camps, accommodation in Makkah and Madinah, and transportation, despite repeated reminders from the Indian government.
Following these lapses, Secretary of the Ministry of Minority Affairs Chandra Shekhar Kumar, accompanied by Joint Secretary CPS Bakshi, visited Jeddah last week to assess the preparations for Indian pilgrims on the ground. Their meetings with Saudi officials reportedly played a critical role in persuading the Saudi Hajj Ministry to reopen the portal.
The Indian government’s involvement also included an earlier visit by Union Minister for Minority Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who travelled to Saudi Arabia from January 11 to January 14, 2025. During his visit, Rijiju signed the bilateral agreement for Hajj 2025 and attended the opening session of the Hajj and Umrah Conference and Exhibition. He also held discussions with senior Saudi officials on streamlining arrangements and ensuring the welfare of Indian pilgrims.
This latest move has come as a major relief for thousands of pilgrims whose travel plans were under threat due to administrative delays and coordination issues.
Hajj 2025 is expected to take place between June 4 and June 9, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Zil-Hajj. With the reopening of the Haj portal, officials hope the remaining CHGOs will act swiftly to secure the necessary arrangements and ensure a smooth pilgrimage experience for the affected pilgrims.
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Sonia Gandhi, Rahul eyed Rs 2000 cr properties without investing a penny: BJP
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Friday dared Congress leaders facing corruption charges to seek a quick and time-bound disposal of cases, as it slammed the party for citing politics as the reason for the ED's action against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case.
The ruling BJP kept the heat on the opposition party following the ED's chargesheet against the Gandhis and accused chief ministers from the Congress-ruled states of ploughing public money as advertisement into the weekly newspaper which few read.
Former Union minister Anurag Thakur alleged that the Congress used the newspaper as its ATM, claiming that Gandhis sought to acquire properties worth Rs 2,000 crores of the National Herald without investing a penny from their pocket.
Both Gandhis together owned 76 per cent of the Young Indian company which was, he said, given Rs 50 lakh loan by the Congress.
The company then took over the Associated Journals Limited, which owns the newspaper affiliated to the Congress, in lieu of Rs 90 crore it owed to the opposition party, he said.
Thakur asked if a political party can give a loan.
To a question about the allegation that the ED action was politically motivated, the BJP leader dared Congress leaders facing corruption charges to move courts to seek quick and time-bound trial in the cases against them.
"If they have guts, they should do it," he said, adding that in the "Congress model of corruption" the thieves make a lot of noises.
The National Herald case, he said, has stunned the Congress ecosystem into silence.
Thakur noted Gandhis have moved courts for quashing action against them for many times since a lower court took cognizance of the matter before the Modi government came to power.
The courts gave them no relief except that they are on bail, he said, adding that the judiciary did not intervene in the Enforcement Directorate's probe.
Turning to his home state Himachal Pradesh where the Congress is in power, Thakur accused the party of not fulfilling any of its 10 main promises but spending crores of rupees in advertisement in the National Herald.
"Does any Congress leader or member read it in Himachal," he asked, demanding that people should be given details of money spent by different Congress governments in advertisements in the newspaper, which is available digitally.
The Congress has been organising protests in different parts of the country against the ED action.
