Amid the controversy over the Uttar Pradesh government omitting Taj Mahal from a tourism department booklet, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is expected to visit Agra on October 25. He is likely to visit Taj Mahal and other monuments in the city, news agency ANI reported on Tuesday.
Reacting to BJP MLA Sangeet SomтАЩs remark on Sunday that Taj Mahal was built by тАЬtraitorsтАЭ, Yogi Adityanath said: тАЬIt does not matter who built it and for what reason; it was built by blood and sweat of Indian labourers.тАЭ
Underlining that the Taj Mahal is an important monument, especially from a tourism perspective, Yogi Adityanath said it was his governmentтАЩs priority to тАЬprovide facilities and safety to touristsтАЭ.
On Sunday, addressing a gathering in Meerut, BJP MLA Sangeet Som questioned the historical significance of the monument saying it was built by a man who imprisoned his father and targeted Hindus. He said his government at State and Centre is working to erase the тАЬblotтАЭ of Akbar, Aurangzeb and Babur from history books.
тАЬMany people were pained to see that the Taj Mahal had been removed from the list of historical placesтАж what historyтАж which historyтАж the person who made Taj Mahal imprisoned his fatherтАж he targeted the Hindus of Uttar Pradesh and IndiaтАж if these people still find place in history, then it is very unfortunateтАж and I guarantee that history will be changed,тАЭ he said.
Som had distorted facts saying Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, imprisoned his father. In fact, Shah Jahan was the one who was imprisoned till the end of his days by his son Aurangzeb.
Meanwhile, the BJP said it doesnтАЩt share SomтАЩs view on the Taj Mahal. BJP national spokesperson G V L Rao, however, said the Islamic rule was a period of extreme exploitation and intolerance.
тАЬAs a party, we do not have a view on any individual monuments. But, broadly speaking, the period of Islamic rule тАФ around 800 years тАФ was a period of extreme exploitation, insane barbarism and unprecedented intolerance to the other faith. If anyone tries to gloss over these facts, it will be actually distorting history. It is well documented by historians of world stature that Muslim invasion and its rule represented the most oppressive and regressive world over,тАЭ he told The Indian Express.
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