Syed Ali Mujtaba
Mumbai: Ahead of the assembly polls in Maharashtra on November 20, the government has announced sops for the Muslim community. They are given Rs 30,000 each person to go on pilgrimage to holy sites announced by the government.
The pilgrimage tour is announced under the CM Tirth Darshan Yojana. The state government provides Rs 30,000 per person for the pilgrim to one pilgrimage site for senior citizens aged 60, provided their annual family income is below Rs 2.5 lakh.
Muslims can visit all popular dargahs in and around Mumbai under this scheme. These are Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, Haji Malang Dargah in Kalyan, and Diwanshah Dargah in Bhiwandi.
According to a Government Resolution (GR) issued on October 15, 2024, the government has included 95 holy places from Maharashtra and 15 places outside Maharashtra in this scheme.
The Maharashtra government this year in July had launched this scheme with 66 holy places of various religions, from Maharashtra, along with 73 religious places outside Maharashtra. However, that list excluded the Muslim community’s sites. Now ahead of the polls, the government has added any number of Muslim pilgrimage centres that are within and outside the state.
Rais Shaikh, Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator from Bhiwandi (E), says, “This government’s outreach programme aimed to win over significant minority votes will not succeed.”
Currently, Maharashtra is under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) rule. This consists of the BJP, Shiv Sena (led by Eknath Shinde), and Ajit Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).