UP govt tourism booklet row: Brazen display of communal politics, says Opposition

NEW DELHI: Opposition parties slammed the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh for what it called "brazen display of communal politics" and said it was shocking that the state had dropped the Taj Mahal from the UP government's tourism booklet.

On Monday, even as the UP administration went on the defensive and said the brochure was not a compendium of tourist sites in the state, opposition leaders alleged that the BJP government was attempting to run down India's cultural heritage that was not Hindu.

CPM politburo leader Brinda Karat said, "This move comes in the context of the UP chief minister denigrating the Taj Mahal. This has been brought on the agenda by the chief minister as a part of his 'Sanghi' project of rewriting history. He, in fact, has turned out to be a Wonder of the World for his sectarian, communal comments."

The Yogi government also came in for sharp attack from Congress and Samajwadi Party, which claimed the move to undermine the Taj Mahal, by far the most popular tourist attraction in the country, was tragic.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, "At one level, it is a joke, at another, it is tragic. It is like Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark, or Prince of Denmark without Hamlet, or both without Shakespeare. It shows religious bias. Basically, it diminishes India globally."