Take pride in history, heritage, says Modi amid Taj Mahal controversy
New Delhi: Days after Uttar Pradesh BJP MP Sangeet Som said the Taj Mahal was a “blot on Indian culture”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an apparent reference to the incident, said on Tuesday that “no country can move ahead without (taking) pride in its heritage”.
The Prime Minister’s comments are being seen as a direct snub to Som.
“Nations cannot develop if they don’t take pride in their history and heritage. If they do, they are sure to lose their identity over a period of time,” said Modi at an event to inaugurate the first All India Institute of Ayurveda.
Read: Taj Mahal built by traitors, can't be part of Indian history, says BJP MLA
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, too, got into a damage control mode and said, “It is immaterial as to who and how the Taj Mahal was built... It was made by the sweat and blood of Bharat Mata’s sons. It is famous the world over for its architecture... it’s a historical monument and its protection and further development for tourism is the responsibility of the government,” he said.
Azam jumps into Taj row
Announcing that he would visit Agra next week to review tourism schemes, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the Taj Mahal was a historical monument regardless of the emperor who had built it.
“It is immaterial as to who and how the Taj Mahal was built... It was made by the sweat and blood of Bharat Mata’s sons,” the chief minister said in Gorakhpur.
“It is famous all over the world over for its architecture...it’s a historical monument and its protection and further development for tourism is the responsibility of the government,” he said.
The Chief Minister said on that Som’s views on the Taj Mahal were personal, and the state government did not endorse them.
Read: Yogi Adityanath govt removes Taj Mahal from UP's tourism booklet
Later, however, his office issued a statement listing various schemes the state government had initiated in Agra, particularly at the Taj Mahal.
The chief minister’s visit to Agra next week is now seen as a damage control exercise on the Taj Mahal.
In a related development, senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan also joined the controversy over Sangeet Som’s remarks on the Taj Mahal, and said that Parliament House and Rashtrapati Bhavan should also be demolished as they were “symbols of slavery”.
Read: Demolish Rashtrapati Bhavan, Qutub Minar along with Taj Mahal, says Azam Khan
“Why single out the Taj Mahal? Why not Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Qutab Minar, Red Fort? They are all symbols of slavery”, Khan said.
Khan said if these monuments were symbols of traitors, they should be demolished. “Zaahir hai, traitors jinhe kehte hain RSS ke log, agar ye traitors ki nishaniyan hain toh demolish kar dena chahiye,” he said.
