Over 42,000 Hajj pilgrims stranded as private operators miss Saudi deadline, BJP’s Siddiqui seeks Rijiju’s intervention

Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju. (File photo/PTI)

Over 42,000 Hajj pilgrims have been left stranded after private tour operators missed a deadline set by Saudi authorities. Jamal Siddiqui, the chief of the BJP Minority Morcha, has urged Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to take immediate action regarding this situation.

Only about 10,000 of the 52,507 pilgrims who had chosen to travel to Mecca with private operators completed the registration process between June 4 and 9. As a result, the remaining 42,000 pilgrims, many of whom had already booked flights and made preparations, are now in limbo, reported The Indian Express.

In a letter to Rijiju, Siddiqui criticized the private operators for their "negligence and incapacity," which led to the Saudi government revoking their original quota.

"For the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage, 52,507 seats were allocated to private tour operators. However, due to their negligence, the Saudi government had to cancel this quota. After your efforts, only 10,000 seats could be retained," he wrote.

Siddiqui has demanded strict action against the responsible firms, calling for the cancellation of the private operator quota altogether and transferring those seats to the Hajj Committee of India.

"Given the seriousness of this negligence in such a sacred undertaking, the quota for private operators should be permanently revoked. The negligent tour operators should be fined and blacklisted," he stated.

A senior BJP leader familiar with the situation explained that the issue arose from missed deadlines on the Saudi Arabia-run online portal, NUSUK, which is now no longer accepting applications. "Prerequisites were supposed to be completed through the NUSUK portal, leaving more than 42,000 pilgrims who made flight arrangements in a difficult position," the leader said.

On April 15, the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) clarified that while it manages arrangements for the majority of India’s Hajj quota—122,518 for 2025—the final distribution is determined by Saudi authorities. This year, over 800 private tour operators were consolidated into 26 Combined Hajj Group Operators (CHGOs) by the ministry.

However, the MoMA stated that these CHGOs failed to meet critical contractual obligations on time. "The Hajj quota was allocated to these 26 CHGOs well in advance. However, despite reminders, they did not comply with the necessary timelines set by the Saudi authorities and failed to finalize the mandatory contracts," the ministry added.