Uttar Pradesh Minister for Haj Azam Khan today took strong exception to the Union Government’s move of decreasing the Haj quota of the state and requested for a review of the decision. In a letter to Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, Khan said that last year, the number of Haj pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh was 23,688 but this year it has been reduced by 1,649

“What is the relevance of cutting the Haj quota of the state instead of increasing it?” the minister asked. He said that Gujarat, whose last year’s quota was of 3,536 seats, has been given 6,272 seats this year. The minister alleged that the Central government was discriminating against the state on the issue and giving unjustified advantage to other states.