Favouritism Delays Haj Preparations

Muslims in the state fear that the desire of Minority Welfare Minister Syed Mohammed Ahmedullah to get PCC secretary Jaber Patel on board the Haj Committee, even though Patel was not named in the list of members notified by the government on 16th August this year, will play havoc with the arrangements of the annual pilgrimage.

According to sources, Ahmdullah's keenness to have Patel on board the Haj Committee is making him put off the first meeting of the Haj Committee. The Chairman of the Haj Committee will be selected in the first meeting of the nominated members.

Ahmedullah is believed to be looking at ways to get the list of members revised so that Patel can be fitted into it.

Ahmedullah's moves are believed to be a cause of worry for former Minority Welfare minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir, who is keen to see his favourite PCC secretary, Zafar Jaweed, as Chairman of the Haj Committee.

Meanwhile, PCC president D Srinivas is learnt to be keen on ensuring that his choice, Mohammed Habeeb Ahmed, is made the Chairman. Habeeb Ahmed also hails from Nizamabad, Srinivas's hometown. Habeeb is also believed to be the choice of many voluntary organisations who have been associated with the preparations of the Haj, based on his past work.

The same voluntary organisations fear that the delaying tactics of the Minority Welfare Minister may prove to be disastrous for the pilgrims.

It may be mentioned here that the government was forced to form an ad-hoc committee with 5 members last year, since a decision on the members was kept in abeyance till the last minute.

The formation of the ad-hoc committee is believed to have been the main cause of complaints of the pilgrims regarding mismanagement - the arrangements drew a lot of flak from the Muslim community.

Some prominent Muslims believe that the government has not learnt from the mistakes made during the preparations last year since it was forced to announce the list of members only after a petition was filed in the High Court by All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul-ul-Muslimeen Floor Leader Akbaruddin Owaisi.

The Haj Camps are scheduled to be held from the second week of October, since the first flight is scheduled to depart for Saudi Arabia on October 24th for Haj 2010.

Till the Chairman of the Haj Committee is selected and preparations begin, Muslims in the State will remain on tenterhooks.

Courtesy: INN