Hours after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s visited to Taj Mahal on Thursday, the Akhil Bhartiya Itihaas Sankalan Samiti (ABISS) -- the history wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak (RSS) -- has demanded that Friday prayers at the Mughal-era monument in Agra be banned, reports India Today.
"Taj is a national heritage- why allow Muslims to use it as a religious site? Permission to perform namaz at Agra's Taj Mahal should be withdrawn," ABISS secretary Dr Balmukund Pandey told India Today, adding if namaaz is allowed then permission to perform Shiva prayers be also granted to Hindus.
"There is ample evidence that Taj Mahal was a Shiva Temple constructed by a Hindu King, Taj is not a symbol of love, Emperor Shahjahan married within four months of his queen Mumtaz Mahal'a demise," said Pandey.
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He added that his organisation was collecting evidence and will soon detail every aspect of it.
Ali, the imam at the heritage sight, said that Shiva prayers should not be performed there adding that peace can happen through dialogue.
Recently, BJP MLA from Sardhana Sangeet Som had said the Taj Mahal was built by traitors and is a "blot on Indian culture".
"Many people were worried that the Taj Mahal was removed from the list of historical places in the UP tourism booklet. What history are we talking about? The man who built Taj Mahal imprisoned his father. He wanted to massacre Hindus. If this is history, then it is very unfortunate and we will change this history, I guarantee you" Som said at a rally in Meerut recently.
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However, the ruling BJP distanced itself from the controversy, saying it was Som's personal opinion about the Taj.
In October, Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage site, had failed to feature in Uttar Pradesh's recent tourism booklet namely "Uttar Pradesh Paryatan-Apaar Sambhavnayen". The booklet was released to mark six months of Adityanath's government.
Following growing outrage, later it finally found a place of pride in the 2018 calendar brought out by the Uttar Pradesh government,
On Thursday, Yogi accompanied by dozens of officials and police commandos wore yellow gloves, a white cap and an anti- pollution mask to sweep litter at the west gate of the Taj Mahal along with 500 BJP members.
He termed the Taj Mahal as "India's gem", and said the Mughal-era monument is "an integral part of our culture" and the government is committed to its conservation.
