TRS activists hijack Haj Camp

Hyderabad, Sept 14 (INN): The flagging off of first batch of Haj pilgrims on Sunday turned into a political gathering with the TRS leaders and activists outnumbering the pilgrims and their relatives who came to see them off.

As many as 350 Haj pilgrims of first batch were forced to wait for almost 11 hours before they actually left for the holy journey through a chartered flight of Saudi Airlines. Clad in ‘Ahram’, the pilgrims started assembling near the Customs’ Hall at the Haj House at Nampally since Fajar prayers at about 5 AM. Although the flight was scheduled at 11.30 AM from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, the pilgrims were assembled to facilitate Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali’s speech on the occasion.

The Deputy CM arrived at the Haj House at about 7.20 AM. He was accompanied with TRS MLA Aamir Shakeel and MLC Mohammed Saleem. Despite the fact that Haj is a purely religious affairs, the three politicians spoke at length explaining the various initiatives being taken by the TRS Government for the welfare of minorities. While Mahmood Ali tried to convince the pilgrims that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was too concerned about them, Shakeel praised the Haj Committee for elaborate arrangements. Similarly, Saleem gave personal advises asking the pilgrims not to waste their time in shopping and focus more on prayers.

Several TRS activists barged into the venue of Haj camp and some of them even occupied the seats meant for the pilgrims.

The pilgrims were forced to remain seated till 8 AM and were not served any breakfast or snacks. Finally, at about 8 AM, Mahmood Ali flagged off the first of the nine buses bound for the RGAI. Only after boarding the buses, the pilgrims were served snacks by the authorities.

The painful waiting period did not end for the pilgrims even at the airport as their flight got delayed by four hours. Neither the pilgrims nor their relatives who came to see them off were provided any facilities at the Haj Terminal. Finally, the first Haj flight left the airport at about 4 PM.

The scene is likely to be more disturbing on Monday when Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will flag off the second batch of Haj pilgrims. Several TRS leaders are bound to wrestle with each other to get themselves into the frame of camerapersons alongside the Chief Minister on the occasion.