Jamshedpur, Sept 8: The state Haj committee has appealed to a number of sources to ensure that 49 aspiring pilgrims, whose applications were rejected by the Haj Committee of India (HCI) for failing to meet a deadline for submitting affidavits and forms, are allowed to proceed to Saudi Arabia.
The 49 pilgrims, all above 70 years old, needed to attach an additional affidavit along with their Haj pilgrimage forms stating their age and residential address. The Mumbai-based HCI rejected the applications on the grounds that according to a Supreme Court of India directive, the last date of submission of Haj forms and affidavits for special categories like senior citizens was May 5, while their applications were received in June.
Of the 49 senior citizens, 23 are from East Singhbhum, 15 from Ranchi, four from Hazaribagh and two each from Godda, Palamau and Giridih and one from Dumka.
Executive committee member of Jharkhand State Haj Committee, Mahmood Alam, however, blamed the fiasco on the whimsical functioning of the HCI.
“The HCI introduced a lottery system this year to select pilgrims from Jharkhand as there was huge number of applicants against our state quota of 2,902, which was later enhanced to 3,078. The lottery took place on May 25 and we were informed on the same date that those applicants above 70 years old would be placed under special category so that they do not get rejected in the lottery. Heeding their advice, we placed those above 70 years in the special category,” said Alam.
The senior citizens also deposited a fee of Rs 1.61 lakh each in May as they were assured by the state Haj committee that they would have to only submit an affidavit about their age and residential address. The HCI did not mention any last date for submission of the affidavit.
However, in July, the HCI website informed that 49 applicants under special category from Jharkhand were rejected as their affidavits were submitted after the last date of May 5.
“The HCI conducted the lottery on May 25. If they told us that the last date for submitting affidavits had already elapsed, then we would have not taken out the senior citizens’ names from the lottery. They also collected money from the senior citizens and only in July they informed us about the applications being rejected. We have approached chairperson of the Haj Committee of India and have also lodged our complaint through Union minister and Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahai and state Haj committee chairman Haji Hussain Ansari,” said secretary of state Haj committee Nasim Khan.
Ansari, who is also state cooperative minister, said letters have been sent to chairperson of HCI Mohsina Kidwai, Sahai and HCI chief executive officer S. Shakir Hussain about the “injustice” done to the senior citizens.
“We are hopeful that their application would be considered as all formalities are completed. We have requested the authorities to allot them vacant seats from other state quotas where possible,” said the minister.
Meanwhile, Haj pilgrims will leave for Jeddah from Ranchi on special flights between September 17 and 24.
