Amidst the ongoing row over BJP leader Sangeet Som’s controversial remarks on the Taj Mahal, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan seems to have followed the footprints of the former by proposing that monuments like the Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Qutb Minar and Red Fort should be demolished as they are “signs of slavery”.
"From the very beginning, I've been saying that all signs of slavery should be removed. Why just Taj Mahal? They should remove Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Red Fort and even Qutub Minar. All of these are signs of slavery," said Khan.
Khan made the provocative remarks while responding to Sangeet Som’s comment, who questioned Taj Mahal's place in India's heritage and said history would be rewritten to erase Mughal emperors from it.
Also Read: BJP MLA Sangeet Som takes a U-turn, says 'don’t oppose Taj Mahal, but the Mughals who built it'
Som had said that the 17th-century mausoleum was built by a "traitor" who wanted to "wipe out Hindus" and was "blot to the Indian culture". Som made these remarks while addressing a rally in Meerut on Monday.
Soon after, the BJP stepped into the row with party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao describing Muslim rule in India as "barbaric and a period of incomparable intolerance" while asserting that its members could hold any opinion they want on specific monuments.
This is not the first time that Azam Khan has jumped into the Taj Mahal controversy.
Earlier this month, he had said that if the Yogi Adityanath government decides to demolish Taj Mahal, he will provide support.
At that time too, he had claimed that historical buildings like Taj Mahal, Qutb Minar and Lal Qila were examples of slavery. “Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Delhi’s Red Fort, Agra Fort, Parliament House, and President House all are symbols of slavery,” Khan said.
