Land On Which Taj Mahal Was Built Belonged To Jaipur Ruler, Shah Jahan Had Acquired It: BJP MP

“It should be investigated what was there before the monument was built and people have the right to know,” PTI quoted Kumari as saying.

Taj Mahal (File Image: ANI)

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Diya Kumari on Wednesday claimed the land on which the Taj Mahal was built originally belonged to Jaipur’s ruler Jai Singh. Kumari, a member of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family, also supported a petition in the Allahabad High Court, seeking a fact-finding inquiry into the “history” of the Taj Mahal and also opening of the doors of its “22 rooms” to see “the truth, whatever it is”, PTI reported. The BJP MP asserted that records in this regard are available with the erstwhile Jaipur royal family.

“It should be investigated what was there before the monument was built and people have the right to know,” PTI quoted Kumari as saying.

“There are records available with the Jaipur family and it would provide these, if required,” she added.

Stating the “land belonged to our family and Shah Jahan had acquired it”, the BJP MP said: “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 which are there in our ‘pothikhana’.”

“Since there was no judiciary, no appeal could have been made at that time. Things will be clear only after examining the records,” she told reporters in Rajasthan capital Jaipur.

The BJP leader while referring to the petition said that it was a valid point that the rooms should be opened and an investigation should be done.

“The people should know why the rooms are locked there. There could have been anything before the Taj Mahal, may be a temple,” Kumari said.

“The people have the right to know what was there originally before the ‘maqbara’,” she added.

The BJP MP from Rajsamand further said that she has not studied the records and can reach a conclusion only after examining them.

“What I am saying is on behalf of what I have learnt and heard. I have not studied the records. We can provide the records to the court if necessary. Only after examining the records, we can reach a conclusion,” the 51-year-old said.

Rajneesh Singh, who is the media in-charge of the BJP’s Ayodhya unit, filed the petition earlier on Saturday in the registry of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court.

“In the petition, I have demanded that the 22 doors of rooms of the monument which are closed should be opened to see the truth, whatever it is,” Singh told the news agency on Sunday.

The petition would come up for hearing before the Allahabad High Court after it is passed by the registry.