New Delhi, India - The Delhi High Court Monday issued notice to the government on a public suit urging subsidies for pilgrims of all religions on the lines of that provided to Muslims for undertaking the Haj.
Petitioner Ashwani Gupta, through counsel Sugriv Dubey, submitted that the Haj subsidy had created an ill will among the followers of the other faiths. Further, Articles 14, 15 and 17 of the constitution restricts the state from giving benefits to one particular religion and ignoring the others, the petitioner submitted.
He further submitted that each year the government gave a subsidy of about Rs.3 billion to Haj pilgrims and that different state governments had built air-conditioned rest houses for them.
He urged the court to direct the government to also grant the subsidy to Hindus for their pilgrimage to Amarnath and Mansarovar, to Sikhs for their pilgrimage to Nankana Saheb, to Buddhists to offer prayers at Sarnath, to Christians for their journey to Rome and to Jains to visit their shrines.
Dubey further submitted that providing subsidy to Muslims for travelling to Makkah was politically motivated as it was aimed at appeasing them to woo their votes. Even several Islamic countries did not grant subsidy to Haj pilgrims, he added.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board had also described the Haj subsidy a sop to gain a political mileage, the petitioner submitted.