Accordingly All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi said it was not Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but Saudi Arabian authorities who allowed women over 45 to travel alone for Haj. Meanwhile Owaisi was referring to Modi’s comments made on Sunday during his “Mann Ki Baat” radio show. Modi said “We have changed this rule, and this year, around 1,300 women applied to go without a male guardian".
Owaisi said “It is the Saudi Haj authorities that allowed any Muslim women above 45 years from any country without a Mehram [male companion]". “It does not believe the prime minister to take credit for what a foreign government has done.”
Furthermore the prime minister said there is a
lottery system that selects Haj pilgrims. “He would like for single women
pilgrims to be excluded from this system and given a chance as a special
category.”
