Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami announced that the financial assistance that is provided by the state government to the Christians taking up the annual Jerusalem pilgrimage will be raised to ₹37,000 from the earlier existing ₹20,000. This comes a day after CM Palaniswami kicked off the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) campaign from his home constituency in Salem for the 2021 assembly elections.
The Government of Tamil Nadu has been implementing a program since 2011 to provide financial assistance for Christians from Tamil Nadu to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The pilgrimage covers Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nazareth, the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee and other Christian sites in Israel, Egypt and Jordan.
Under the program, 500 to 600 Christians from all denominations take up the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The project is being implemented by the Tamil Nadu Minority Welfare Directorate.
It is to be noted that Government of India withdrew the subsidy provided to Muslims for undertaking the Haj pilgrimage in 2018 as per a 2012 Supreme Court order that directed the Haj subsidy to be gradually phased out in the coming ten years.
Earlier, the Chief Minister announced that ₹2500 would be provided for Pongal for all rice-card holders, along with their monthly rations during the month of January. These rations are to include raw rice, sugarcane, cashew, grapes and sugar for the harvest festival of Pongal celebrated in Tamil Nadu in January.