Traitors built Taj Mahal, it's a blot on Indian culture: BJP MLA Sangeet Som.
Lucknow: Agra's world famous Taj Mahal - the iconic monument of love - continues to grab headlines for good and bad reasons.
After a controversy over its non-inclusion in Uttar Pradesh Government's recently released tourism booklet, firebrand BJP MLA Sangeet Som has now said that the historic monument was built by traitors.
Som, who is the sitting BJP MLA from the Sardhana assembly constituency, reportedly said that the iconic Taj Mahal should have no place in the Indian history as it was built by traitors.
Calling Taj Mahal 'a blot on the India culture', Som said, "It was built by a person (Shahjahan) who imprisoned his own father."
Som made these remarks while addressing a function at Sisoli village in Meerut district on Sunday, according to reports.
Besides his controversial remarks on Taj Mahal, Som also said that the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University was a hub of terrorists.
The loudmouth BJP legislator has been in the news for making communally-charged statements in the past.
He has earlier been booked for making inflammatory statements in connection with the Muzaffarnagar riots, but was later given a clean chit.
However, his party appears to have distanced itself from the controversy.
Sangeet Som has said this in his own capacity. This is not BJP's view, Anila Singh, BJP spokesperson, was quoted as saying by media reports.
Som made these remarks days after the UP tourism booklet, which was released to mark six months of the Yogi Adityanath government, omitted Taj Mahal while outlining plans for new attractions including a tour of monuments and locations central to the Ramayana.
It also included existing tourist destinations like the Gorakhpur temple (of which Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is the main priest).
CM Yogi had too said that the monument "had no connection with India's culture or heritage".
Former UP CM and Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav had earlier defended the monument and said that it continues to be "an architectural marvel and a much-visited monument that generates employment for a large number of people".