Saudi Arabia raises India's Haj quota by 30,000
Osaka: In a significant step, Saudi Arabia has increased India's Haj quota from 170,000 to 200,000, paving the way for 30,000 more Indians to go for the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in the kingdom.
The issue of India's Haj quota was discussed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bilateral talks with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman here.
Modi, who is in Japan for the G20 Summit, discussed the deepening cooperation in trade and investment, energy security and counter-terrorism with the "invaluable strategic partner".
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said that the Crown Prince had promised Prime Minister Modi that India's Haj quota would be raised from 170,000 to 200,000 annually.
"This is important and this has been done," he said. Two lakh Indians will have the opportunity to go for Haj which will begin very shortly, Gokhale said.
The two leaders also spoke about the need for greater tourism, more flights and agreed to meet again, he said.
The Saudi Crown Prince has also invited the Prime Minister to be one of the main guests at an international conference later this year and he has accepted the invitation with pleasure, the Foreign Secretary said.
The government last year allowed women to go on Haj without 'Mehram' or male companion, which saw about 1,300 women going without any male companion. They had been exempted from the lottery system.
Last year, Saudi Arabia increased India's Haj quota by 5,000, while in 2017 it was increased by about 35,000. The Haj subsidy provided by the government was removed last year in the light of a Supreme Court order of 2012.
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No need for guv: DMK leader Kanimozhi
Chennai (PTI): Senior DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Friday reiterated her party’s opposition to the office of the governor amid uncertainty over government formation in Tamil Nadu after a fractured election mandate.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Kanimozhi emphasised that the DMK’s demand for the abolition of the governor’s post remained unchanged, especially as questions arise over constitutional propriety during the current political transition.
"Our position that we do not need a governor at all is something the DMK has never changed at any point in time," she said.
When asked about the governor’s actions following the election results—particularly the delay in inviting the leading party to form the government—Kanimozhi pointed to what she described as the "inherent friction" between the office of the governor and the political interests of the state.
She said the current situation "raises a lot of questions" and requires introspection regarding constitutional procedures.
Kanimozhi described the election results as lacking a "clear mandate", which she identified as the primary reason for the prevailing political uncertainty in the state.
"What the people decide is supreme," she said, adding that while the mandate was not decisive, it must be respected.
The Thoothukudi MP attributed the ongoing delays and "many confusions" to the absence of a decisive majority for any single party.
She firmly dismissed rumours about the DMK potentially supporting the AIADMK from outside to help stabilise the government.
She described such reports as mere "speculation" and "rumours".
"We can’t be responding to every rumour," she said, declining to comment on the AIADMK’s claims regarding its numbers to form the government.
The political situation in Tamil Nadu remains fluid as stakeholders await the governor’s next constitutional step in an Assembly where no party has secured a clear majority.
The DMK and AIADMK—both of which suffered significant losses to the TVK—are reportedly exploring tactical manoeuvres to navigate the hung Assembly.
The TVK, with 108 seats and the support of Congress’s five MLAs, is still short of the majority mark. The DMK and AIADMK secured 59 and 47 seats, respectively.
