'If Taj Mahal is built by traitors so is Red Fort’: Indian politician to Modi

Omar Abdullah asks if people will be happy seeing Modi addressing from Nehru Stadium

An Indian politician has asked PM Modi if he would also stop hosting foreign dignitaries at the state capital's iconic Hyderabad House, because that, too, was built by "traitors".

Asaduddin Owaisi, a key member of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) had a stinging response to a BJP MLA saying that the Taj Mahal was built by a "traitor".

Even Hyderabad House in delhi was built by "Traitor"will MODI stop hosting Foreign Dignitaries??

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) October 16, 2017

According to the Times of India, a video of Sangeet Som, a UP BJP legislator, recently emerged in which he is claiming that the Taj Mahal is not part of the Indian culture and should not be either, because the man who built it, Shah Jahan, "tried to wipe out Hindus".

He added that Mughal emperors Babur, Akbar and Aurangzeb were "traitors". Som, though, indicated he does not believe the Taj Mahal should be a historical site.

The AIMIM's Owaisi is not the only person critical of Som's comments. The Samajwadi Party and the National Conference also slammed him.

National Conference’s Omar Abdullah also wondered if people looked forward to Narendra Modi addressing the nation on Independence Day from New Delhi's Nehru Stadium instead of from the ramparts of the Red Fort.

An S Samajwadi Party spokesperson said the Taj must not be dragged into any controversies. “Don't create controversy around Taj Mahal. It brings [a] lot of revenue.”



Commenting on a recent dropping of the monument from a list of Uttar Pradesh's historical sites, Som wondered why it should be considered part of Indian culture and history.

"Many were sad when the Taj Mahal was removed from the list of historical places. What kind of history? What place's history? Whose history? The history that the man who built the Taj Mahal imprisoned his father? The history that he wanted to wipe out the Hindus from all of Uttar Pradesh and India?" asked the BJP MLA.

 

This story originally appeared on the Times of India.