Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday made light of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to the Taj Mahal, saying it is Lord Ram’s “kamaal” (wonder).
Mr. Adityanath had to visit the Taj Mahal under “pressure from the Centre”, the SP leader charged. “See how time changes... BJP did not consider it as heritage... and now the CM is cleaning West Gate of the Taj Mahal with a ‘jhadu’ (broom),” Mr. Yadav told reporters here.
“He (CM) is wielding broom there. We have nothing to do with it. It is Lord Ram’s ‘kamaal’,” he said.
Tourists from all over the world visit the monument, he observed.
“I am waiting for him to get clicked on that seat (with the Taj Mahal in the background),” he said.
“BJP men had termed the Taj Mahal as Shiva Temple. Some termed it as a blot on Indian culture. ,” he said.
Damage control
Mr. Yadav had visited the Taj as the U.P. Chief Minister over two years ago on Valentine’s Day and sat on one of the benches in front of the monument along with his wife and Kannauj MP Dimple Yadav.
Mr. Adityanath’s visit is seen by many as a damage control exercise after a series of controversies erupted, beginning with a UP tourism department booklet not mentioning the white marble monument in its list of development projects in the state.
Last year, Mr. Adityanath had said that the Taj does not represent Indian culture and that visiting dignitaries should be given the Gita rather than Taj replicas.
