Azam Khan joins Taj Mahal row: Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan too symbols of slavery, demolish them

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan said Rashtrapati Bhavan and Parliament are symbols of slavery and must be demolished

IndiaToday.in  | Edited by Kritika Banerjee
New Delhi, October 17, 2017 | UPDATED 12:41 IST
Azam Khan has said like Taj Mahal, Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan too areb symbols of slavery.Azam Khan has said like Taj Mahal, Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan too areb symbols of slavery. Photo: Reuters.

Highlights

  • 1
    Azam Khan says Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament symbols of slavery
  • 2
    Samajwadi Party leader says such monuments must be demolished
  • 3
    Earlier, BJP's Sangeet Som said Taj Mahal is a blot on Indian culture

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has joined the controversy over Sangeet Som's remarks on Taj Mahal and said Parliament and Rashtrapati Bhavan should also be demolished as they are symbols of slavery.

"Why single out Taj Mahal? Why not Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Qutub Minar, Red Fort? They are all symbols of slavery," said Azam Khan.

The Samajwadi Party leader said that he has always been of the opinion that all symbols of slavery must be destroyed. "Mai pehle se iss rai ka hoon ki ghulami ki un tamaam nishaniyon ko mita dena chahiye jisse kal ke shasakon ki boo aati hai," Azam Khan said.

Azam Khan said if these monuments are symbols of traitors then 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.

SANGEET SOM ON TAJ MAHAL

On Monday, BJP MLA Sangeet Som said Taj Mahal was a blot on Indian culture and its creator Shah Jahan wanted to wipe out Hindus and imprisoned his father. Addressing a gathering in Meerut, Sangeet Som said it was unfortunate that Mughal "invaders" were part of the country's history and his government will change this history.

"Many people were disappointed that the Taj Mahal was removed from the UP tourism booklet. What history are we talking about? Whose history? The creator of the Taj Mahal (Shah Jahan) imprisoned his father. He wanted to wipe out all Hindus from India," Sangeet Som said.

"I have spoken against the Mughals, Babar, Akbar, Aurangzeb, about their history. They were foreign invaders. We cannot name our roads and buildings after them. What is their contribution," Som later said, denying that he had insulted the Taj Mahal. 

MAMATA, OWAISI HIT BACK

Reacting sharply to the BJP MLA's remarks, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi will stop hoisting the tricolour at Red Fort on Independence Day as traitors built the monument. "Can Modi and Yogi tell domestic and foreign tourists not to visit Taj Mahal," Owaisi asked.

Trinamool Congress and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said such comments are a "manifestation of BJP's political agenda" and that the day is not far when the "BJP will try to change the country's name to rewrite history". "How can they say this building is built by the Hindus and this by the Muslims or Christians," said Mamata Banerjee, adding that such comments are against India's "heritage and age-old values"

Recently, Taj Mahal's name was not featured in the Uttar Pradesh tourism booklet which was released to mark six months of the Yogi Adityanath government. The booklet, incidentally, carried the name of Gorakhpur temple.

ALSO WATCH:Taj Mahal built by traitor, says BJP MLA Sangeet Som