The ongoing controversy over Taj Mahal took a fresh turn on Monday with a group of Hindu Yuva Vahini activists chanting 'Shiva Chalisa'—devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Shiva— in front of the historic monument.
According to a report in a national daily on Tuesday, half a dozen Vahini men led by Bharat Goswami, the Aligarh city unit president of the outfit, demanded that they be allowed to pray inside the Taj premises. Their demand was rejected by the CISF officials leading to an altercation between the two.
The Vahini men reportedly argued that the namaz, too, should be stopped at the Taj if they could not be allowed to pray. Later the activists were forcefully removed from the premises by officials.
The latest incident came two days ahead of the proposed visit of of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to the 17th century monument in the wake of the fresh controversies surrounding on it. Interestingly, the Hindu Yuva Vahini was founded by Adityanath in 2002.
The iconic structure in Agra has been in the middle of a storm ever since the BJP-led state government reportedly left out the 'monument of love' from its tourism booklet. BJP MLA Sangeet Som sparked an outrage recently when he said Taj Mahal was built by 'outsiders' and 'traitors' and that it cannot be included in Indian history. In what seemed like a damage control attempt, Adityanath said the Taj Mahal was built by blood and sweat of Indian labourers."It does not matter who built the Taj Mahal and for what reason," he had said.
Vinay Katiyar, a BJP MP from Kanpur, had claimed that the Mughal mausoleum was built on a Hindu temple which had once housed a Shivling.
