Yogi Adityanath at Taj Mahal today amid controversy

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath will visit Taj Mahal on Thursday against the backdrop of various controversial statements made by some BJP leaders and ministers regarding the status of the 17th century monument in India’s culture.

Mr Adityanath will be the first BJP CM of UP to visit the monument of love.

According to his programme, Mr Adityanath will stay for half an hour at the graves of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal and visit the Shah Jahan park nearby.

The chief minister will inspect various places along the way, inside and outside the monument. He will also lay foundation for the development of a tourist pathway from Taj Mahal to Agra Fort.

He will also run a mega cleanliness campaign along with 500 BJP activists and social workers around the west gate of Taj Mahal. The chief minister has already declared that the state government will spend Rs 370 crore on development plans aimed at promoting tourism in the city of Taj.

Along with the visit to Taj Mahal, Adityanath will inaugurate various development projects in Agra, an official spokesman said here on Wednesday.

“During his tour of Agra.., the chief minister will be visiting all the places inside Taj Mahal,” principal secretary, tourism, Awanish Awasthi said.