Provide Haj subsidy of Rs 10 cr: AIADMK

The AIADMK on Wednesday urged the Tamil Nadu government to provide an annual subsidy of Rs 10 crore for Haj pilgrims from Tamil Nadu and also an additional subsidy of Rs 1,500 per person to those who undertake the pilgrimage via Kochi, Kerala.

Calling upon the ruling DMK to exert pressure on the Centre to re-designate Chennai as an embarkation point for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, AIADMK co-coordinator K Palaniswami said the AIADMK regime's gesture of providing the annual subsidy should be continued.

In a statement here, Palaniswami said the AIADMK government, headed by him, announced an annual subsidy of Rs 6 crore in 2018 for Haj pilgrimage after the Centre withdrew the subsidy. ''Following a request, I had increased the sum to Rs 10 crore. Since 2018, the subsidy was credited directly to the bank accounts of the Islamic pilgrims taking up the pilgrimage to the holy city,'' Palaniswami said.