Members can hold any view: BJP on Sangeet Som’s ‘Taj Mahal’ remarks

Asked about the BJP's stand on Som's comments on the Taj Mahal, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife, party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said the party does not have any view on specific monuments and its members can hold whatever opinion they have.

GVL Narasimha Rao, national spokesperson, BJP. (Express Photo service)

The BJP on Monday described the Muslim rule in India as “barbaric and a period of incomparable intolerance”, while asserting that its members can hold any opinion they want on specific monuments. The BJP’s reaction came after Sangeet Som, its MLA from Uttar Pradesh, questioned the Taj Mahal’s place in history and said the presence of Mughals in India’s history is “unfortunate”.

Asked about the BJP’s stand on Som’s comments on the Taj Mahal, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife, party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said the party does not have any view on specific monuments and its members can hold whatever opinion they have.

“But as far as the Muslim, Mughal rule in this country is concerned, that period can only be described as exploitative, barbaric and a period of incomparable intolerance which harmed Indian civilisation and traditions immensely,” he told PTI.

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Rao also lashed out at All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi after the latter attacked the BJP over Som’s comments. Responding to Som’s comments, Owaisi asked if the government would tell tourists not to visit the Taj Mahal.

“Even in the present times, Mulim leaders such as Owaisi exhibit the same level of intolerance as Muslim rulers once displayed,” Rao said, in response to Owaisi’s remarks.

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