Amidst the heated political debate surrounding world famous monument Taj Mahal, Haryana senior Minister Anil Vij on Friday termed the marble monument as a “beautiful cemetery”.
With his statement, the outspoken Haryana Minister has joined the league of other BJP leaders making controversial remarks on Taj Mahal after the Yogi Adityanath led Uttar Government dropped the monument from its tourism booklet recently. Haryana Health and Sports Minister Anil Vij on Friday tweeted, “Taj Mahal ek khoobsurat kabristan hai.”
Vij, while talking to a section of media said that it is true that the monument is beautiful and has graves inside. Taj Mahal is a beautiful cemetery, said he.
Since it is a cemetery, people consider it to be ominous and do not keep a model of it in their homes, added the Minister.
Vij, a senior Cabinet Minister in the BJP government in Haryana, is known for making controversial statements and tweets. He is a five-time BJP MlA from the Ambala Cantt constituency in the state.
Anil Vij’s controversial remarks on Taj Mahal comes after BJP lawmaker Sangeet Som called Taj Mahal a blot on India’s history and culture while another BJP MP Vinay Katiyar said that the marble monument is actually a Shiva temple.
Notably, political controversy has escalated over Taj Mahal since the Uttar Pradesh government dropped it from the booklet of its Tourism Department, drawing flak from various quarters.
Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the seven wonders of the world is visited by lakhs of people from across the world. The 17th-century marble monument was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz. Both were buried at the Taj Mahal.After the UP Government dropped Taj Mahal from its tourism booklet, BJP hardliner Sangeet Som had said that it was a good decision. Som went onto say that Taj Mahal was a blot on Indian culture.
This was followed by another controversial remark by BJP MP Vinay Katiyar who said that the Taj Mahal is actually a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva.
A day before, the Kerala Tourism Department took to Twitter thanking the iconic Taj Mahal for ‘inspiring millions to discover India’.
After the controversy, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had also taken a potshot at UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath when he wrote on social media, “Andher Nagari Chaupat Raja.”