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RE: Taxpayers pay for the HAJ Pilgrimage ?
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Please help make the Manifesto better, or accept it, and propagate it!
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There is no doubt that to woo minorities, the subsidising took place for
pilgrimage to Haj .
Government considerations are always ideally, to the possible extent..with
in it's capabilities.
For example if all other religions seek a subsidy to go some where, Govt
may cancel all subsidies !
When funds to Hindu Temples are tax exempt, (may be other institutions also)
,
why tax payer's money need not be spent for the subsidy ! A tax is exempt,
and a tex is paid ! it is Govts discretion.
Simply to prove that the Govt is secular, it need not undo every gesture to
words minorities .
Infact thinking that way, the very concept of special considerations to
words any minority is to be
erased. Is is ever possible ! When every one under law, born on this land
are Constitutionally Eqal,
why special provisions for Minorities ! When the provisions are inevitable,
such considerations are also
to be expected .
> ----------
> From: R Bharatiya[SMTP:arantxa@nde.vsnl.net.in]
> Reply To: debate@indiapolicy.org
> Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2000 5:41 PM
> To: debate@indiapolicy.org
> Subject: Re: Taxpayers pay for the HAJ Pilgrimage ?
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Please help make the Manifesto better, or accept it, and propagate it!
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Dear Umesh,
> This issue had been agitating my mind for quite sometime.I had been asking
> my lawyer friends that a state whose Constitution in the preamble contains
> word Secular (dictionary meaning of which is 'Not concerned with religion
> ')
> cannot indulge in such funding.I asked them that if I claim that my
> religion(always a personal thing) dictates that I must make a trip to the
> Moon atleast once in a lifetime and subsequently thousands make such claim
> then?I said I want to move a writ petition in Supreme Court asking it to
> issue directions to the Union Govt to part finance my trip to the moon.My
> own part of the expenditure is the only thing that has kept me from
> actually going ahead with it.You have mentioned sufficient reasons to stop
> the subsidy.But will it?
> Raju Bharatiya
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Tiwari, Umesh K <UKTiwari@pcgb.com>
> To: <debate@indiapolicy.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2000 7:09 AM
> Subject: Taxpayers pay for the HAJ Pilgrimage ?
>
>
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Please help make the Manifesto better, or accept it, and propagate it!
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Just now read a Hindustan Times report. The News Item says :
> > "SUBSIDY FOR HAJ RAISED: The Union Cabinet today okayed the enhanced
> subsidy
> > for Haj pilgrimage. The subsidy quantum has shot up from a mere Rs 10
> crore
> > in 1994 to Rs 137.12 crore this year. The sharp rise in recent years is
> > attributed to the fixed fare of Rs 12,000 for each Haj pilgrim.
> > The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee,
> > approved the hiked subsidy without making any changes in the net air
> fare
> > for the pilgrims. Briefing mediapersons, Parliamentary Affairs Minister
> > Pramod Mahajan said as per estimates 72,000 pilgrims were to visit Mecca
> > this year as against 62,103 last year. Mr Mahajan said Air India will
> > utilise six aircraft on wet lease for transportation of the pilgrims.
> The
> > actual travel cost per head would be Rs 31,044 assuming that flights
> going
> > one way remain empty.
> > While the air fare stays pegged at Rs 12,000, subsidy on each ticket had
> > risen from Rs 5,000 in 1994 to Rs 19,044 each this year. "
> > While offering subsidies or temporary tax incentives to domestic
> industries
> > and farming community to encourage their growth and productivity and
> make
> > them competitive in open world, or levying customs duty on things, cheap
> > import of which hurts local industry irreparably, can be argued as means
> > applied by all governments. However, offering subsidies and hiring
> planes
> on
> > tax-payer money so that some people can go on cheap and affordable HAJ
> > Pilgrimage is preposterous.
> > How about subsidizing Pilgrimage for all Sikhs and sending a government
> > plane load full of Sikh people to Pakistan (I think it is Nankana
> Saheb),
> or
> > subsidizing Pilgrimage for Christians to visit Rome or Jews & Christians
> to
> > Jerusalem or Hindus to Char Dham?
> > This is not intended to hurt any religious community, however it is hard
> for
> > me to digest that Government of India hires Air India planes so that
> some
> > people can go on pilgrimage!
> > I am wondering what others at IPI think about issues like these.
> > Thanks.
> > Umesh Tiwari
> >
> >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > This is the National Debate on System Reform.
> debate@indiapolicy.org
> > Rules, Procedures, Archives:
> http://www.indiapolicy.org/debate/
> >
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> >
>
>
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> This is the National Debate on System Reform. debate@indiapolicy.org
> Rules, Procedures, Archives: http://www.indiapolicy.org/debate/
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>
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This is the National Debate on System Reform. debate@indiapolicy.org
Rules, Procedures, Archives: http://www.indiapolicy.org/debate/
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