Hajj pilgrimage-2019 application distribution starts: Minister Zameer Ahmed
Bengaluru, October 20: Minority Welfare, Hajj and Wakf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan said that the Indian Haj Committee has started the process of distributing the applications for Hajj Pilgrimage 2019 from today.
Inaugurating the process of distributing the Hajj applications for 2019 at Hajj Bhavan at Thirumenahalli in the city on Saturday, the Minister said that for last year’s Hajj pilgrimage, total 18,427 applications were submitted to the State Haj Committee and among them, 6,624 persons were selected through lottery. This time, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi would be urged to increase the quota by 2,000-2,500 for the state, he said.
Action against private tour operators
The cases of private tour operators cheating the pilgrims were increasing. They take the money from the Hajj pilgrimage aspirants and disappear. Those who want to prefer private tour operators for Hajj pilgrimage should confirm whether the tour operators have permission or not. The owner of Hareem Tours of Tilak Nagar had collected amount from 138 persons. But later, he was disappeared. For 2019 Hajj pilgrimage, all the 138 persons would be selected without lottery. Among 138 persons, around 15-20 persons were in economically poor condition and he would send them for the pilgrimage in his own expenses, he said.
“The Hajj Committee has been collecting Rs 2.30 lakh from each person. Of which, Rs 76,000 was being spent for flight ticket. If we take the flight tender, then the cost might be around Rs 36,000. If the central government gives us the Karnataka quota, we could arrange the remaining facilities and it would help the people”, the Minister said.
State Haj Committee Chairman Roshan Baig said that he and Minister Zameer would try to increase the quota this time. Last time, the pilgrims from Karnataka had some accommodation problems in Mecca and Madina. Steps would be taken to avoid such problems next year, he said.
In November-December, Central Haj Committee delegation would visit Mecca and Madina to review the accommodation facilities. Since the process of application submission was started three months before, best accommodation could be expected near the Haram and the tomb of Prophet Muhammad, he said.
Maulana Lutfullah, Maulana Zainul Abidin, State Haj Committee Executive Officer Sarfraz Khan, Members M.S. Arshad, Balqish Banu, Syed Sanaullah, BBMP Member Syed Mujahid and others were present.
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Allahabad HC orders FIR against Rahul Gandhi in dual citizenship case
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered an FIR be filed against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in connection with an alleged dual citizenship controversy.
The bench permitted the state government to hand over the probe to any central probe agency after registration of the FIR.
The order was passed by a bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi on a petition filed by S Vignesh Shishir, who had challenged a January 28 order of a special MP/MLA court rejecting his plea for an FIR against Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The special court had earlier held that it was not competent to adjudicate on issues related to citizenship.
The petitioner, a BJP worker from Karnataka, had sought registration of an FIR and a detailed probe into the matter, levelling allegations against Gandhi under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Official Secrets Act, the Foreigners Act and the Passport Act.
The complaint was initially filed before the special MP/MLA court in Rae Bareli. However, on the petitioner's request, the high court transferred the case to Lucknow on December 17, 2025.
The MP/MLA court in Lucknow subsequently dismissed the plea on January 28, 2026, prompting the petitioner to approach the high court, which has now ordered registration of an FIR.
In its order, the bench said that from a bare perusal of the allegations, prima facie cognizable offences were made out against Gandhi and hence the allegations required to be investigated.
The bench said that the special court should have looked into whether the allegations prima facie made out any cognizable offences or not, but it failed to consider it.
Earlier, Deputy Solicitor General of India SB Pandey produced the central government's records in the court relating to the citizenship controversy surrounding Gandhi.
Government counsel VK Singh also consented on behalf of the UP government that the allegations prima facie made out cognizable offences.
After having a detailed hearing, the bench found that the material on records showed that Gandhi had committed "cognizable offences" in having dual citizenship, and these allegations required to be probed.
The petitioner has alleged that Rahul is a UK Citizen and incorporated a company named M/S Backops Ltd in August 2003.
It was further submitted that Gandhi categorically admitted and voluntarily declared his nationality as British, having a Director Identification ID and London and Hampshire addresses.
In his petition, Shishir claimed that Rahul submitted the company's annual returns in October 2005 and October 2006, listing his nationality as British.
Thereafter, the company was dissolved through a dissolution application in February 2009.
According to the petitioner, the material placed before the court includes records suggesting that Rahul Gandhi may have been listed as a voter in the United Kingdom and participated in electoral processes there.
During the course of the hearing, the high court earlier directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to place all relevant records, including classified documents, before the court.
