jaipur:
The land on which the Taj Mahal was built originally belonged to Jaipur’s ruler Jai Singh and it was acquired by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, BJP MP Diya Kumari claimed Wednesday, claiming records are available from the former royal family of Jaipur.
She also backed a petition in the Allahabad High Court seeking a fact-finding inquiry into the “history” of the Taj Mahal and also opening the doors of the “22 chambers” to “see the truth, whatever it may be.” .
“It is necessary to investigate what was there before the monument was built and people have a right to know. Records are available from the Jaipur family and they will provide it if necessary,” Ms Kumari, a member of the former royal family from Jaipur, said.
“A compensation was given in lieu of the land, but how much was it, whether it was accepted or not, I cannot say this because I have not studied the records that are in our ‘pothikhana’. But the land belonged to our family and Shah Jahan bought it,” she told reporters.
“Because there was no judiciary, there was no appeal at the time. Things will only become clear after examining the documents,” the BJP leader said.
Referring to the petition, she said it was a valid point that the chambers should be opened and an investigation should be launched.
“People need to know why the rooms there are locked. There could have been anything before the Taj Mahal, maybe a temple. People have a right to know what was originally there before the ‘maqbara,'” Ms Kumari said.
She said she has not studied the documents and can only come to a conclusion after examining them.
“What I am saying is on behalf of what I have learned and heard. I have not studied the documents. We can provide the documents to the court if necessary. Only after studying the documents can we come to a conclusion,” Ms Kumari said. †
The petition was filed in the Registry of the Lucknow Bank of the Supreme Court on Saturday by Rajneesh Singh, the media in charge of the BJP’s Ayodhya unit.
The petition would go to court for a hearing after it is approved by the Registry.
“In the petition, I demanded that the 22 doors of the rooms of the monument that are closed must be opened to see the truth, whatever it is,” Singh told PTI on Sunday.