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New Delhi:
Wild speculations are on about the fate of Salman Khurshid in the
union cabinet after the Minister of Law & Justice and Minority
Affairs, who is charged of misusing the
funds meant for disabled, cancelled his scheduled hajj plans on
Saturday.
Salman Khurshid has been replaced by
Union Minister of state for external affairs E Ahmed. Ahmed
left for Jeddah on Sunday. Indian envoy in Riyadh Hamid Ali Rao
has been asked to join him as part of a two-member official Indian
delegation to combine diplomacy and religious ritual.
Salman Khurshid was scheduled to
lead the Indian goodwill haj delegation from India. However,
sources said, opted
out of the tour in order to answer the IAC attacks, which is
planning a rally in his Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency next
month.
However, the reports coming from New
Delhi's power circle said that Khurshid did not opt out of the haj
mission on his own but he was removed at the behest of prime
minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
It is also speculated that the
Congress high command had taken some hard decision about Khushid
ahead of the cabinet reshuffle expected on Tuesday and hence he
had been advised to remain in the capital.
Only a few days ago, Indian consulate in Jeddah had announced the
visit of Khurshid as the head of Indian goodwill delegation for
the 2012 haj. The two-member delegation is expected to visit
pilgrims in Makkah and Madina to examine the facilities as well as
arrangements.
On earlier occasions, haj goodwill
delegations used to comprise of dozens of people including
ministers. This year, however, due to the Supreme Court order, the
government decided to send a two-member delegation to Saudi Arabia
for haj.
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