Damage Control: UP Govt Launches Heritage Calendar Featuring Taj Mahal

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The state Information and Public Relations Department has issued a heritage calendar which includes a photograph of Taj Mahal along with PM Modi and CM Yogi on the page of July. It also highlighted development the schemes related to it.

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government seems to have gone into damage control mode after the controversy related to remarks about the Taj Mahal from the ruling BJP refuses to die down.

While Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is set to visit the Taj Mahal on October 26, UP Tourism has released an official calendar featuring Taj Mahal with the pictures of PM Narendra Modi and Adityanath.

The state Information and Public Relations Department has issued a heritage calendar which includes a photograph of Taj Mahal with PM Modi and CM Yogi on the July page. It also highlighted development the schemes related to it.

This time Gorakhnath Temple of Gorakhpur has also been included in the heritage calendar, alongside the Kashi Vishwanath Temple of Banaras; Vindhyachal; Holi of the Barsana of Mathura, Krishna birthplace; Jhansi fort and Sarnath. Other places which are showcased in the heritage calendar are Ram Ki Paudi in Ayodhya, Triveni Sangam of Allahabad and Gurudwara of Pilibhit.

After BJP MLA Sangeet Som's controversial statement about the Taj Mahal, the BJP government has been on the backfoot after much trolling on social media.

Adityanath appeared before the media soon after and said that he himself was going on a review visit to Agra and the Taj Mahal. He also said that the monument was built by the sweat and blood of Indian workers.

Sensing the backlash, even Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday said that one should take pride in history and heritage. According to sources, the central high command of the BJP is unhappy with the statement of Som.

Amid all the hue and cry, BJP Rajya Sabha member Vinay Katiyar claimed that Shah Jahan had destroyed a Hindu temple to build the monument. “Taj Mahal is a Hindu temple that was known as Tejo Mahalaya. It was a Shiva temple that was demolished by Shah Jahan to build the Taj Mahal,” Katiyar told CNN-News18 in an exclusive interview.

He added, “It is a fact that there was a Hindu temple, but I’m not asking for the Taj Mahal to be destroyed. It is also all right that CM Yogi Adityanath wants to visit the monument.”