New Delhi: Taj Mahal has been at the centre of right-wing politics for quite some time. Some right-wing organisations had last year claimed that the 17th century monument was originally ‘Tejo Mahalaya’, a shiv mandir.
After becoming Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister, Yogi Adityanath had said that the monument does not reflect the Indian culture and on Monday BJP MP Vinay Katiyar claimed that the Mughal-era monument will soon be converted into ‘Tej Mandir’.
However, Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma on Tuesday chose to keep away from the controversies and maintained that Taj Mahal is the “pride of the country”.
In a reply to a starred question in the Rajya Sabha, Sharma informed the Parliament that the top revenue-generating monuments during 2015-18 include Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Qutub Minar, Red Fort and Humayun's Tomb
Others in the top 10 list for the period of 2015-2018 include Agra Fort, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Sun Temple in Konark, Mamallapuram, Ellora caves, group of monuments in Khajuraho, and the Ajanta caves in Aurangabad.
The year-wise details of expenditure incurred for conservation of protected monuments under Archaeological Survey of India during 2015-2018 were given by the government. In2015-16, the total expenditure was Rs 23,746. In 2016-17 the expenditure incurred was Rs 30,176 and in 2017-18 it was Rs 41,076.
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