BJP MLA Sangeet Som on Monday gave a statement on Taj Mahal and its creator following which a big controversy erupted across the country. (ANI)
BJP MLA Sangeet Som on Monday gave a statement on Taj Mahal and its creator following which a big controversy erupted across the country. In the most recent development over the issue, the BJP MLA defended his stand and said,”I don’t oppose Taj Mahal. It’s a beautiful heritage. I oppose Mughals who built it & how they’ve been portrayed in history,” reported ANI. Earlier in the day, Sangeet Som took a jab at Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who got the monument built, and said that the creator of this marvel tried to do a ‘sarvanaash’ of Hindus. He in a speech said,”Kaisa itihaas, kahan ka itihaas, kaun sa itihaas..Taj Mahal banane wale ne UP aur Hindustan ke Hinduon ke sarvanaash ka kaam kiya tha.” Sangeet Som is BJP MLA from Sardhana of Meerut in UP. According to PTI, Som also termed Mughal emperors Babur, Akbar, and Aurangzeb as “traitors” and said their names would be removed from the pages of history.
Som’s comments came weeks after the Yogi Adityanath government reportedly left out the Taj Mahal from an official Uttar Pradesh tourism booklet. Som’s remarks on the Taj had come at a gathering in village Sisoli village, where he inaugurated a statue of 8th-century king Anangpal Singh Tomar.
However, BJP leader and a minister in the Adityanath government, Rita Bahuguna Joshi while talking to News18.com said that Som’s comment may be his individual opinion, but Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and she believed the Taj is “a part of our cultural heritage.” She didn’t agree with Som’s remarks and asserted that Taj Mahal is India’s “proud heritage”. Joshi also said that Taj is not just “heritage” but also major tourist spot and the UP government is committed to the “upliftment” of Agra and the Taj.
