BJP's Kausar Jahan elected as Delhi Haj Committee chairperson

Jahan will be the second woman to hold the post of the Delhi Haj Committee chairperson. Congress leader Tajdar Babar was the first woman to be elected to the post

In a setback to the Aam Aadmi Party, BJP-affiliated Kausar Jahan was elected as the Delhi Haj Committee chairperson on Thursday, with her party saying it is a step towards the empowerment of Muslim women.

Jahan will be the second woman to hold the post of the Delhi Haj Committee chairperson. Congress leader Tajdar Babar was the first woman to be elected to the post.

The AAP alleged Jahan was elected because of the "complicity" between the BJP and the Congress. Jahan received three of the five votes cast by the committee members in the election held at the Delhi Secretariat.

The committee comprises six members -- two each from the AAP and the BJP, Muslim theology expert Mohammad Saad and Congress councillor Nazia Danish. BJP MP Gautam Gambhir is among the committee members. Danish abstained from voting.

The three votes received by the BJP-affiliated candidate included those of Gambhir, Saad and Jahan herself. AAP MLAs Abdul Rehman and Haji Yunus are also members of the committee.

Jahan, who met Delhi BJP working president Virendra Sachdeva at the party office after her victory, said she was elected as the Delhi Haj Committee chairperson to do virtuous work and the AAP should not indulge in politics over it.

"There should not be any politics over my election because I have to serve the people. I want to appeal to my AAP brethren not to do so. We will work together," Jahan told PTI.

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Sachdeva said Jahan's victory shows the growing trust and faith of Muslims in the party and it is a step towards the empowerment of Muslim women. "Congratulations to Kausar Jahan on being elected as the Delhi Haj Committee chairperson. The victory of the BJP-affiliated candidate in the Delhi Haj Committee makes it clear that now the Muslim community is also eager to join the country's development stream Shri @narendramodi," he said in a tweet in Hindi.
Sachdeva said he hoped Jahan would bring greater transparency in the working of the Haj Committee and will help increase the number of women Haj pilgrims every year.

AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj accused Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena of indulging in "utter dishonesty" while nominating members for the Delhi Haj Committee.

Saxena nominated Congress councillor Nazia Danish to the committee and "this was not right", and in the end, she abstained from voting in the election, thereby ensuring the "BJP candidate's victory", the AAP leader alleged.

Haj Committee members were appointed by Saxena in January. This drew a sharp reaction from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who termed the notification issued by the LG "illegal" and claimed that the proper process was not followed.

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