2021 Hajj will depend on Saudi Arabia govt's decision: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday said that no decision has been taken by the Central government on the 2021 Hajj pilgrimage yet, adding that India will stand with the Saudi Arabia government's decision for annual Hajj yatra amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"Hajj will depend on the decision of the Saudi Arabia government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India will stand by the side of the Saudi government in its decision. Last year Haj got cancelled. This year nothing has been decided yet," Naqvi said.

Last year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Saudi government had announced that it would hold a "very limited" Hajj, with people already living in the kingdom allowed to take part in the pilgrimage that begins in late July.

The Union Minister for Minority Affairs had said last year that India would honour the decision of the Saudi Arabia Government to ban international pilgrims to perform Hajj.

More than two million people perform the annual pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca every year, including many travelling from abroad. About 2 lakh Indian Muslims had performed Hajj in 2019.