The controversy over Urban Development and Parliamentary affairs minister Azam Khan alleged move to demolish the historical gate of the Rampur Fort and effort to steal a gold statue on that gate took an interesting turn when Central government intervened into the matter.
Central Ministry of Cultural Affair reportedly directed the director general of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take necessary action in this regard. Congress legislator Nawab Kazim Ali aka Naved Mia, who already handed over a memorandum to governor B l Joshi seeking his intervention to prevent Mohammad Azam Khan to demolish the historical gate of the Rampur Fort and effort to steal a gold statue on that gate, claimed that on his letter, Ms Chandresh Kumari, union minister for cultural affairs, asked DG ASI to take necessary action in the matte. He claimed that DG ASI has been asked to stop Rampur administration from doing any damage to wall of Rampur Qila and also to monitor that how the Rampur Club has been transferred to trust ownen by the UP minister.
He said that the union minister also directed to declare Rampur Club as protected monument. Nawed Mia further claimed to have also filed a writ in the High Court seeking preservation of ancient and historical munoments. Earlier Naved Mia, in two separate memorandum to the governor alleged that the UP minister was conspiring to demolish the historical gate due to his ego to insult the nawabs of Rampur. '’The UP minister has prepared a fake report of the PWD to demolish the gate of the Rampur Fort after he had demolished the Nawab gate and Shahabad gate earlier,''Naved Mia told media persons here on last Wednesday. Though he said they have approach the court and it is likely that they would get a stay over the demolition.'' If the gate is demolished then the existence of the Rampur Fort will be wiped off and it will create insecurity of the historical monument,'' he said while adding that already the district authorities have arrested the Congress and RlD activists and caned them when they were opposing the demolishing of the gates.
''In the previous SP regime, Azam Khan had stolen 10 paintings and marble from the Model Montessori school inside the Fort and now efforts were on to remove the gold statue situated on the gate,'' he said in his memorandum.