Will Modi stop flying tricolour at Red Fort? PM gets drawn into Sangeet Som-Taj Mahal controversy
The prime minister found himself being drawn into the controversy sparked by BJP leader Sangeet Som saying that the Taj Mahal was a blot on India culture.
Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi stop hoisting the tricolour from atop the Red Fort, which was also built by the "traitors"?
That was how All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party president Asaduddin Owaisi to Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Sangeet Som saying that the Taj Mahal - one of the seven wonders of the world - was a blot on India's culture and was built by an emperor who targeted Hindus.
Som, an MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Sardhana, was speaking at a rally where he referenced the recent controversy over the Taj Mahal not being present in a tourist booklet issued by the UP government.
"Many people were pained to see that the Taj Mahal was removed from the list of places (tourist destinations). What type of history?" Som questioned, before going on to distort facts and say, " Is this history that the person who built the Taj Mahal imprisoned his father? Do you call it history when the one who built the Taj targeted many Hindus in Uttar Pradesh and Hindustan?"
Som also went on to term Mughal emperors Babur, Akbar and Aurangzeb "traitors" and said their names would be removed from the pages of history.
BJP's Sangeet Som says,'Many were sad when Taj Mahal was removed from historical places.What history? Its creator wanted to wipe out Hindus' pic.twitter.com/5OcpJwC4d7- ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2017
Som, who has a history of controversial statements, came under fire for his comments about the Taj Mahal, with even the BJP seemingly distancing himself from its MLA.
News18.com quoted Rita Bahuguna Joshi, a cabinet minister in the Yogi Adityanath government, as saying that Sageet Som may have been speaking in an individual capacity while talking abotu the Taj Mahal, which, she said, is "part of our cultural heritage".
Some of the sharpest reactions to Sangeet Som's comments about Taj Mahal came from AIMIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah, both of whom used the Red Fort to target the BJP leader.
"Traitors"also build Red Fort will MODI stop hoisting Tiranga ?Can MODI & YOGI tell domestic & foreign tourist not to visit TAJ MAHAL? https://t.co/3dyDsv7b4e- Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) October 16, 2017
"'Traitors' also build (sic) Red Fort will MODI stop hoisting Tiranga?" Owaisi questioned on Twitter, adding, "Can MODI & YOGI tell domestic & foreign tourist not to visit TAJ MAHAL?"
Omar Abdullah spoke in a similar veins, posting on Twitter, "No more Red Fort speeches on 15th August? "The PM will address the nation from Nehru Stadium" will fill some hearts with unabashed glee".
No more Red Fort speeches on 15th August? "The PM will address the nation from Nehru Stadium" will fill some hearts with unabashed glee. https://t.co/TOx6vIO1nx- Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) October 16, 2017