Shah Jahan captured Hindu palace to build Taj Mahal, claims BJP MP

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Diya Kumari on Wednesday claimed that the land on which the Taj Mahal has been built in Agra belonged to the Jaipur royal family and there used to be a palace that was captured by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.

Jaipur (Rajasthan): Bharatiya Janata Party MP Diya Kumari on Wednesday claimed that the land on which the Taj Mahal has been built in Agra belonged to the Jaipur royal family and there used to be a palace that was captured by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. "As per documents with us, property (Taj Mahal) on that land was a palace. Shah Jahan captured it during his rulen. The land belonged to Jaipur royal family (erstwhile) and we have got the documents that it belonged to us," Kumari told media persons here.

"Documents say that since Shah Jahan liked it so he acquired it. I have heard that he gave some compensation in lieu of it. If the court directs we will provide the documents," added the Lok Sabha MP from Rajsamand. This comes at a time when a plea was filed earlier this month in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court seeking the directions to the Archaeological Survey of India to probe the 22 closed doors in the Taj Mahal to ascertain the presence of the idols of Hindu deities.

The plea sought the constitution of a fact-finding committee and the submission of a report by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It has been said in the petition that the idols of the Hindu deities are locked up behind closed doors. The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as the tomb of his wife Mumtaz. The constriction of the marble monument began in 1632 and took 22 years to finally be completed in 1653. The architectural magnum opus was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.

ANI