Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, on Wednesday said that the Taj Mahal is an integral part of our heritage. His statement comes a few days after controversy was raked over non-inclusion of the Taj Mahal in a UP government booklet released to mark six months of the BJP government in the state, led by CM Yogi Adityanath 2 October. He said that the entire issue was the ‘handiwork of vested interests’, a report states.
The booklet, which was released by UP tourism minister, Rita Bahuguna, to promote tourist spots in the state and includes the Gorakhpur temple of which Yogi Adityanath is the chief priest.
In his first comments, Adityanath said that the UP government had no intent to denigrate the historical monument.
“Just because the Taj was not mentioned it doesn’t mean it is being ignored. The government has already allocated funds for its conservation,” he said as quoted by TOI.
Earlier in June this year, Taj Mahal – a Unesco World Heritage Site – was not included in the list of heritages that will be preserved by the Uttar Pradesh government.
