“Taj Mahal ek khoobsurat kabristan hai. Yahi kaaran hai ki isko ashubh maante huye iska model log apne gharon men nahi rakhte hain (The Taj Mahal is a beautiful graveyard. This is why it is considered inauspicious, and why people don’t keep a model of it in their homes),” ANI quoted Vij as saying.
Vij is the latest in a long list of political leaders to jump into the recent controversy surrounding the Mughal monument.
The controversy began with BJP legislator Sangeet Som‘s comments that the Taj is not representative of Indian culture as it was built by Emperor Shah Jahan, “who wanted to wipe out Hindus”.
Som’s remarks came under fire from several quarters, including indirectly from Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who said the monument was decidedly Indian.
After that, BJP parliamentarian Vinay Katiyar claimed that Shah Jahan had razed a Hindu temple to build the Taj Mahal, while another BJP MP, Subramanian Swamy, claimed to have access to documents that suggest the mausoleum was built on land stolen from the then kings of Jaipur.
(With inputs from ANI)
Source : timesofindia
