Monitoring Desk 

JEDDAH: The Saudi Arabia government has awarded a contract of western countries Hajj pilgrims to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi close aid, Middle East Eye can reveal

According to the media outlet, Last week, Saudi authorities announced that would-be Hajj pilgrims from Australia, Europe and the United States would need to apply for visas via the government portal Motawif, a move intended to crack down on what it called "fake" travel agencies.

A Dubai-based company that has been exclusively contracted to process the western applications through Motawif, has ties to Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Prashant Prakash, a close aid of Modi, has invested millions of dollars in Traveazy in 2016 to 2018. 

Traveazy — a Dubai-based company that has been exclusively contracted to process the western applications through Motawif — has ties to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

MEE reached out to Bhalla, the CEO of Traveazy, for comment, but did not receive a response by time of publication.

According to Forbes, Umrahme is now "one of only three companies authorised by the Ministry of Hajj & Umrah to sell Umrah products to global travel agents. By 2020, it was ranked fifth in Forbes' list of 50 of the most funded start-ups in the Middle East".

'Outrageous and dangerous'

Several Indian activists said the revelations were concerning. Nabiya Khan, based in the capital, New Delhi, told MEE that Saudi Arabia's decision to outsource the application process to a company with investor links to the BJP was "outrageous" and "dangerous".

Khan said that the BJP-led Karnataka government was at the centre of several anti-Muslim policies, including restrictions on the hijab and adhan (dawn prayer).

"Muslims in Karnataka have been under continuous attack under the BJP. We have also seen Karnataka's chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai, encouraging right-wing interference of inter-faith marriages and harassment of inter-faith couples, where Muslim men are a site of direct violence," she said.

"The personal data of those Muslims who applied through the portal could easily end up in the wrong hands," Khan said.

"It is unfortunate that Muslim nations are entrusting such sensitive information and money to people whose money will ultimately abet persecution of Muslims in India," added Khan.