Following AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi’s statement on Thursday asking the government to scrap the subsidy for Haj pilgrims, Congress legislator Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Friday accused him of working for the Sangh Parivar’s agenda.

In a tweet, Owaisi had said that the Rs. 690 crore which is being used for the Haj subsidy should be used for the education of Muslim girls instead.

Saudi Arabia has increased Haj Quota to 1.70 from 1.30 we welcome it @naqvimukhtar Please remove Haj Subsidy 690 cr allot to Girls Eductn

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) January 11, 2017

He has also welcomed the statement of minister of state for minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi welcoming the decision of increasing the Haj quota from 1.30 lakh to 1.70 lakh by Saudi Arabia.

However, the Leader of Opposition in the Telangana Legislative Council Shabbir Ali demanded that Owaisi take back his statement and apologise to the Muslims of the country.

He said that the subsidy has helped poor Muslims in Old City to take at least one Haj pilgrimage and is not meant for those who stay in star hotels during the pilgrimage.

“He may not need the subsidy, but why deprive poor Muslims from it. It is a shame that the MIM chief is supporting a conspiracy hatched by the Sangh Parivar against poor Muslims to deny them a facility for practising their religious beliefs as guaranteed in the Indian constitution,” Shabbir told Times of India.

He also alleged that the Sangh Parivar has been trying to scrap the Haj subsidy for past several years, and the AIMIM president has been following the same path to attract `non-secular' vote in states like Maharashtra and Karnataka.

He also questioned BJP’s motive to scrap the Haj subsidy and Owaisi’s support to BJP’s move.