Women enter Taj Mahal mosque, perform puja
Monday, November 19, 2018 IST
HIGHLIGHTS
*The women lit 'dhoop batti' and poured 'ganga jal' inside the premises as a video of the incident went viral on social media.
*While CISF commandant Braj Bhushan said they had no knowledge of the incident as their jawans are not allowed inside the mosque, ASI officials said they were checking the authenticity of the video.
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AGRA: Three women belonging to Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad, a local right-wing outfit, offered puja at the 400-year-old mosque in the Taj Mahal complex on Saturday. The women lit 'dhoop batti' and poured 'ganga jal' inside the premises as a video of the incident went viral on social media.
Later, the outfit's district president, Meena Devi Diwakar, said, "If Muslims are being allowed to offer namaz on all days, then even we can offer puja at our Tejomahalaya (the term used for Taj Mahal by right wing activists)." While CISF commandant Braj Bhushan said they had no knowledge of the incident as their jawans are not allowed inside the mosque, ASI officials said they were checking the authenticity of the video.
When contacted, ASI superintending archaeologist (Agra circle) Vasant Swarankar said, "We had sent the ASI staff on the spot after we were informed. But no dhoop or any other puja material was found on the spot." He said, "Local police has been informed of this and CISF has been asked to provide the CCTV footage whose authenticity will be checked."
Swarankar said action will be taken against the Hindu activists, if the CCTV footage confirms the incident.
Meanwhile, Govind Parashar, leader of Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, who had on Friday threatened to perform puja inside the Taj Mahal, said, "If no action has been taken against Muslims who violated ASI ban, why should action be taken against the Hindu activists?"
Sadiq Ali, imam of the mosque, said that performing puja at the mosque is wrong and action should be taken against those who did it.
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