Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s efforts to put an end to the controversies surrounding the Taj Mahal proved to be futile as fringe right-wing groups on Thursday raised slogans of “Jai Shri Ram” even as he wielded the broom at the 17th century marble wonder as part of a damage control exercise.
Claiming that the Taj Mahal was built on top of a Shiva Temple, members of Vishwa Hindu Mahasangh raised the slogans even as the CM cleaned the western gate of the Taj Mahal, as part of a cleanliness drive.
Some of them even claimed that the Taj Mahal was built on top of a Shiva Temple that was razed by the Mughals.
Apparently, the authorities had issued official passes to the fringe group to participate in the event, which was being seen as an effort to pacify frayed tempers following a series of controversial statements by several BJP leaders on the Taj Mahal.
The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has been accused of ignoring Taj Mahal in the tourism booklet of the state and the controversial statements by some of its leaders have only added to the woes of the state government.
BJP MLA Sangeet Som had stirred controversy last week when he called the Taj Mahal a blot on Indian culture, while some other right-wing politicians have said the Unesco World Heritage Site visited by millions was not representative of the Indian socio-cultural ethos.
Jumping on the bandwagon, senior Haryana Minister Anil Vij termed the marble monument as a “beautiful cemetery” while BJP MP Vinay Katiyar extended support to a group of right-wing activists for reciting the ‘Shiv Chalisa’ at the Taj Mahal.
Yogi had earlier said that the monument was constructed “by the blood and sweat of Indian labourers”.
The Stateman
