Minister of State for External Affairs General V.K. Singh on Thursday received the first batch of Haj pilgrims coming from India in Medina.
General V.K Singh had earlier assured that the Centre will approach the Saudi Arabian government to allocate more Haj seats to Indian pilgrims.
As per reports, in a letter in response to the representation made by G S A Ansari, former chariman of the Maharashtra Haj Committee, Singh said during the annual bilateral meeting between India and Saudi government for Haj 2016, he had requested the Saudi Haj minister to increase the quota for India from 1, 36, 020 to 1, 93, 400 as per the latest estimated Muslim population in India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier in April conveyed his sincere appreciation for the excellent arrangements made by the authorities of the Saudi Arabia Government for the comfort of the Haj and Umrah pilgrims from India.
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