Dwarka Haj House: BJP-led delegation meets Union Min Puri on scrapping land allotment

A delegation of Khap Panchayat, led by Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta met Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday, demanding the cancellation of land allocated for the construction of a Haj House in Dwarka.

A statement issued by the Delhi BJP said the delegation handed over a memorandum to the minister during the meeting. Gupta said it is rather ironic that while there is a shortage of land for schools, colleges, and hospitals in the city, the Delhi government has decided to allocate land in Dwarka sector 22 for a particular community “against the wishes of locals”.

"The fact is, there are hardly any people from the minority community living in the area where the land has been allocated for the Haj House," Gupta said on Thursday, demanding the allotment be scrapped.

The BJP leader claimed that there are several land plots with the Wakf board in Delhi where the Haj House can be built and there is no need for acquiring villagers’ land for this purpose. Earlier, the Delhi BJP had organized a protest against the allotment of land. 

The delegation which met Puri on Thursday included Delhi BJP general secretary Dinesh Pratap Singh, vice presidents Rajan Tiwari and Jaiveer Rana, besides representatives of Palam Khap panchayat. 

Delhi Haj House Issue

The Delhi Haj House was first proposed in 2008 by former CM Sheila Dikshit, to provide immigration assistance, accommodation, prayer rooms, and dining spaces for Haj pilgrims. The proposed Haj House is said to accommodate at least 350 pilgrims at one time. 

The project was allotted around 5,000 square meters of land in Dwarka’s Sector 22. In 2018, the Aam Aadmi Party government allocated Rs 94 crore for the project, which some Dwarka residents claim is part of the AAP's vote-bank politics.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has been continuously protesting against the Haj House, calling out the government for its 'Muslim-appeasement policies'. In a press statement issued last month, the VHP said that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should desist from making Delhi the 'capital of Jihadis'. 

The VHP central leadership also warned that the Delhi government should "give up the idea of constructing a Haj House and stop serving the infiltrators and Jihadis, else, the society of the national capital will be forced to come on the streets"

(With inputs from agency)