WAH, TAJ! PM, YOGI BID TO ERASE BLOT
CM WILL visit Agra on October 26, optics will help alter public perception “Nations cannot develop if they don’t take pride in their history and heritage. Rather, they are sure to lose their identity over a period of time,” — Narendra Modi
BJP legislator Sangeet Som’s obnoxious references to the Taj Mahal – that it is a “blot on Indian culture” – constrained PM Narendra Modi to assert on Tuesday that no country can move ahead without pride in its heritage, reports CNN IBN.
“Nations cannot develop if they don’t take pride in their history and heritage. Rather, they are sure to lose their identity over a period of time,” said Modi while dedicating the first ever All India Institute of Ayurveda to the nation.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that he would be visiting Agra next week. Sending out a stern message to the inflammatory voices, he also asserted that Taj Mahal was built by the blood and sweat of "Bharat Mata's sons" and its protection was the responsibility of the UP government.
He also declared that it was a historical monument, regardless of the emperor who had built it.
Adityanath's comments come a day after his party colleague and MLA questioned the monument’s place in India's heritage and said history would be rewritten to erase Mughal emperors from 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 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.
Announcing that he would visit Agra on October 26 and there was a Rs 370 crore work plan for the city, Adityanath said it was the duty of the state government to ensure that proper security and facilities were extended to tourists.
Governor Ram Naik, too, weighed in with his views on the 17th century monument. "The Taj is one of the wonders of the world and the pride of our country. So, don't drag it into controversies and play politics over it," he said on the side lines of a convocation.
Som's comments on the Taj Mahal had come after the Adityanath government reportedly omitted the 17th century monument from an official booklet on tourist destinations.
"I have always held the view that all symbols of slavery should be erased. Why only the Taj Mahal? Why not Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Qutub Minar and the Red Fort? These are all symbols of slavery," Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan told the media last night, responding to Som’s comments.
Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen had asked if the government would tell tourists not to visit the monument.
The BJP stepped into the row with party spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao describing Muslim rule in India as "barbaric and a period of incomparable intolerance" while asserting that its members could hold any opinion they want on specific monuments.