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Yogi tries to sweep controversy, BJP MLA insists Taj Mahal was a Shiva Temple

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7 years ago

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Yogi at Taj Mahal

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Amid raging controversy triggered by BJP leaders’ attacking Taj Mahal, Uttar Pradesh chief minister visits monument, initiates cleanliness drive

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, on Thursday, visited the Taj Mahal in Agra in what is being seen as a damage-control exercise after several BJP leaders and his government’s tourism department dragged the 17th century architectural marvel into a raging controversy.

Adityanath’s visit comes in the wake of contentious and ill-informed remarks made by BJP legislator Sangeet Som (who termed the marble mausoleum as a “blot on Indian culture”) and party MP from Kanpur, Vinay Katiyar (who claimed that the monument was originally a Shiva temple). The UP government’s tourism department too had drawn flak last month after it omitted any reference to the Taj Mahal in a brochure published by it to highlight tourism hotspots of the state.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]With his government and the BJP facing severe criticism over the Taj Mahal row, Adityanath had sought to control the damage to his image and that of his party by asserting at a public event that the UNESCO World Heritage site was “built by the blood and sweat of Indian labourers and sons of Bharat mata” – a comment he reiterated on Thursday. His office had then confirmed that Yogi Adityanath will be visiting Agra and the Taj Mahal to review progress of the many schemes that his government has initiated for the city and its historical monuments.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]However, on Thursday, as the Uttar Pradesh chief minister arrived in Agra and made his way to the Taj Mahal, it seemed that even his personal intervention to quell the row had failed to rein in the errant voices in his party.

With a mask on his face and gloves in his hands, Adityanath, along with his tourism minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi in tow, kicked off a cleanliness drive from the western gate of the Taj Mahal – posing for pictures with brooms and some litter strewn right in front of them.

However, if the chief minister had hoped to sweep aside the controversy over the Taj along with the filth that one could see in the images flashed on screens of television news channels, then the attempt clearly didn’t pay off.

The BJP’s MLA from Agra North, Jagan Prasad Garg, who was accompanying the Uttar Pradesh chief minister at the Taj Mahal complex told reporters: “Several historians believe that there was a Shiva temple at the same place where the Taj Mahal is located. Mughals first demolished the Shiva temple and then built the Taj Mahal. It is a fact.” Garg was reiterating the misleading and historically inaccurate claim that was recently made by BJP MP Vinay Katiyar and has in the past been pushed by the BJP-RSS brigade and a section of self-styled historians like PN Oak who have time and again propounded the outlandish theory that the marble mausoleum stands over the debirs of a temple called the Tejo Mahalaya which was dedicated to Lord Shiva.

The Opposition didn’t seem to buy Adityanath’s visit to the Taj Mahal as a genuine attempt to silence the critics of the mausoleum commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to serve as a tomb for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Adityanath’s predecessor and Samajwadi Party chief, Akhilesh Yadav, mocked the chief minister’s Taj Mahal visit calling it “Bhagwan Ram ka kamala (a wonder because of Lord Ram)”.

“See how times change… BJP did not consider it (the Taj Mahal) as heritage… and now the CM is cleaning the West Gate of Taj Mahal with a broom… I am waiting for him to get clicked on that seat (referring to a bench in front of Taj Mahal where visitors generally get their photograph clicked with the monument in their background),” Akhilesh told reporters in Lucknow.

Adityanath claimed that those opposing his visit to the Taj Mahal were “people who have divided the society on the basis of caste”. He perhaps chose to forget that by raking up an unnecessary controversy based on enormously flawed theories over the Taj Mahal, the BJP was trying to do exactly the same.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Man attempting to cross India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan shot dead by BSF personnel

“We are investigating the case under these acts,” he added.

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3 hours ago

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December 25, 2024

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Border Security Force (BSF) personnel shot and killed an individual attempting to cross the India-Pakistan border in the Ganganagar district of Rajasthan late on Tuesday, according to police.

Jitendra Kumar, the station house officer at Kesrisinghpur police station, stated that the man was trying to breach the barbed wire fence when he was spotted by BSF personnel. “They advised him to leave the area, but when he continued to advance, the BSF personnel shot him,” said the SHO.

Sriganganagar Superintendent of Police Gaurav Yadav confirmed that the suspect was allegedly trying to enter Indian territory around midnight on December 24, 2024. Despite warnings from the BSF soldiers, he did not heed their calls, which resulted in the shooting.

The incident occurred near a village in the Kesarisinghpur area. Items recovered from the intruder included Pakistani currency notes, a cigarette packet, an identity card, and other belongings. Authorities are currently gathering more information about him.

Ongoing discussions are taking place between the armed forces and police officers regarding the incident. An FIR has been filed that includes charges of trespassing and violations of the Passports Act and the Foreigners Act, according to Kumar. “We are investigating the case under these acts,” he added.

This incident is one of several similar occurrences along the border. In August, the BSF apprehended an intruder named Jagsi Kohli, who had entered about 15 kilometers into Indian territory in Barmer after locals alerted authorities that he was asking for directions to Tharparkar, a district in Pakistan’s Sindh province.

In March of this year, another person attempting to cross the border in Ganganagar was shot by BSF personnel. There have been additional incidents reported in October 2022 and twice in March 2021, all resulting in fatalities among the intruders.

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Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Chandrababu Naidu among leaders at NDA meet in Delhi amid Ambedkar row

The alliance had decided to convene on the birthday of the late BJP leader, noted for successfully leading the first coalition government to complete its term.

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4 hours ago

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December 25, 2024

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief J.P. Nadda and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu among leaders of the NDA met in New Delhi on Wednesday to discuss different issues including Shah’s comment on BR Ambedkar days ago in Rajya Sabha.

In attendance, apart from Shah, Nadda and Naidu, JD-U leader and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Apna Dal (S) president and Union minister Anupriya Patel, as well as JD (S) leader and Union minister H.D. Kumaraswamy were present.

Also present were Jitan Ram Manjhi, leader of Bihar’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (S) and a minister in the Modi government, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president Upendra Kushwaha, a Rajya Sabha MP, and Thushar Vellappally, president of Bharath Dharma Jana Sena.

While the specific agenda of the meeting was not officially disclosed, sources indicated that discussions revolved around good governance and various political issues—principles that were central to Vajpayee’s tenure as Prime Minister. The alliance had decided to convene on the birthday of the late BJP leader, noted for successfully leading the first coalition government to complete its term.

Following the meeting, Nadda shared on X, “Attended the NDA leaders’ meeting in New Delhi today. Under the visionary leadership of PM Narendra Modi, India is achieving unprecedented milestones and has positioned itself as a global superpower. The NDA government remains committed to realizing the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’, ensuring a brighter and more prosperous future for all.”

Sanjay Nishad, chief of the NISHAD Party in Uttar Pradesh, described the meeting as “informal” and focused on Vajpayee’s legacy. He emphasised the importance of unity among all alliance members heading into future elections, mentioning that they congratulated the BJP leaders for their electoral victories in Haryana and Maharashtra.

Nishad further outlined that the meeting addressed coalition strategies to ensure that Prime Minister Modi’s initiatives effectively reach the populace and that electoral promises are fulfilled. He raised the topic of providing reservations for the fishing community, stating, “I presented evidence on this issue, as it was a poll promise. They will follow up with us next week to discuss it.”

Responding to inquiries about whether Amit Shah’s controversial remarks on Ambedkar were discussed, Nishad said, “We are here for the welfare of the people. Our energy should focus on achieving success in that area, rather than engaging with negativity from opposition parties.”

The NDA meeting underscores the alliance’s commitment to the proposed simultaneous elections, with all members backing the initiative. A Joint Committee of Parliament, established to review two bills related to simultaneous polls, is set to convene on January 8.

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Manipur CM Biren Singh says state needs immediate peace, understanding between two communities

He claimed that the administration is responding quickly to the displaced people’s needs in areas such as education and agriculture.

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4 hours ago

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December 25, 2024

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Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Wednesday emphasised the urgent need for peace in the state, which has faced ethnic violence since May of last year, and called on two communities to reach a mutual understanding.

Speaking at the Good Governance Day event held at the state BJP headquarters, Singh expressed confidence that the BJP could restore stability to the northeastern state, highlighting the party’s commitment to coexisting harmoniously.

“What is happening in Manipur today has multiple causes. Those who seek to divide the state are now questioning the government’s actions… they are driven by a desire for power,” Singh remarked.

He mentioned several initiatives, such as ‘Meeyamgi Numit’ (People’s Day), designed to foster closer relationships between officials and the public. “We do not oppose any specific community. The BJP’s position is clear: we advocate for the idea of living together and have initiated efforts to strengthen ties between the police and the community,” he stated.

Singh added that the state government is diligently addressing the needs of internally displaced persons by establishing committees throughout the administrative framework. He claimed that the administration is responding quickly to the displaced people’s needs in areas such as education and agriculture.

“We have not made any mistakes. Our goal is to ensure the well-being of future generations. It is essential for both communities to remain calm. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should concentrate on the upcoming NRC process, capturing biometrics, and using 1961 as the foundation year for the Inner Line Permit,” Singh said.

He also highlighted the government’s commitment to acting within a democratic and constitutional framework, noting that achieving these goals will take time. “What we require now is immediate peace and a resolution of misunderstandings between the two communities,” he concluded.

The ongoing violence has resulted in the deaths of over 250 individuals and left thousands homeless due to clashes between the Meitei community and Kuki-Zo groups since last May.

“Only the BJP can save Manipur. BJP leaders possess strong values of nationalism and social justice, practicing reality-based politics in the nation’s interest. If I am not nominated for a ticket by the BJP, I will remain loyal to the party,” Mr. Singh added.

He also highlighted several unity-focused projects initiated by the BJP government, mentioning that a Unity Mall featuring stalls from all ethnic groups in the state will be constructed with an investment exceeding ₹140 crores.

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