The inexplicable move to eliminate the Haj subsidy & reduce embarkation points is anti-secular & condemnable. Govt. must reverse this move.

DMK working president M.K. Stalin strongly condemned the Union government on October 8, 2017, for its regressive proposal to abolish the Haj pilgrimage subsidy and curtail regional embarkation points. Stalin characterized the policy shift as an overt attack on constitutional secularism and minority welfare rights. He pointed out that reducing embarkation airports would inflict immense logistical hardship and exorbitant travel expenses on thousands of elderly pilgrims travelling from regional hubs like Chennai to holy shrines in Saudi Arabia.

Stalin emphasized that the Indian Constitution explicitly safeguards religious freedom, equality, and minority cultural practices. Unilaterally withdrawing long-standing financial assistance for Haj travelers while continuing budgetary support for other religious pilgrimages breached the secular promise of equal state treatment. The proposed reduction of departure centers forced pilgrims from southern states to undertake cumbersome domestic transit before boarding international flights.

The DMK leader demanded an immediate reversal of the contentious decisions, urging the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs to preserve existing subsidies and retain all regional embarkation terminals. He affirmed that the DMK remained unswerving in defending minority entitlements against majoritarian legislative maneuvers.