The CM's visit also came on a day when outrage mounted over a brutal attack on a Swiss couple in Fatehpur Sikri near Agra
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the Taj Mahal on Thursday, seeking to douse a controversy ignited by some BJP leaders who recently made hate-filled comments about India's famous monument.
The CM said later at a public meeting that it was not important who built the Taj and why. "That it was built with the blood and sweat of Indians is more important," he said.
BJP MLA Sangeet Som recently said the monument was built by a "traitor who wanted to wipe out Hindus", and that it was a "blot on the Indian culture"
The CM's visit also came on a day when outrage mounted over a brutal attack on a Swiss couple in Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. The CM was seen taking selfies with foreigners. "My government's priority is to strengthen security and increase facilities for tourists to take their numbers to 3 lakh a day from the current 50,000," the CM said.
Slogans of Jai Sri Ram filled the air when the CM entered the Taj compound where he stayed for about 30 minutes. He also went to the graves of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his wife and Mumtaz Mahal and spent about 11 minutes there.
The CM, his deputy Dinesh Sharma and Tourism Minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi, besides other ministers and BJP leaders, picked up brooms to launch a cleanliness drive around the Taj Mahal.
The CM also launched projects worth Rs 400 crore at Mehtab Bagh, Agra Fort, Shah Jahan Park and Kachpura where those displaced from the Taj area have been relocated. He also reviewed a World Bank project to make a two-km-long corridor, from the Taj Mahal to the Agra Fort, of shopping malls, restaurants, tourist complexes and amusement parks.
After Som, senior BJP leader Vinay Katiyar said on October 18 the Taj Mahal was Lord Shiva's temple called 'Tejo Mahal' which was converted into a mausoleum by Shah Jahan.
The 17th century structure's mention was recently removed from the UP tourism department booklet, a move that had triggered shock and outrage. The UP tourism booklet, which was released recently to mark six months of the Yogi Adityanath government, includes plans for new attractions including a tour of monuments and locations central to the Ramayana.
It also includes tourist destinations like the Gorakhpur temple (of which the CM is the main priest). It does not feature the Taj.
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