Ram Mandir Workers Honoured While Taj Mahal Builders' Hands Were 'Chopped Off': Yogi Adityanath

UP CM Yogi Adityanath claimed that the hands of Taj Mahal workers were chopped off, while Ram Temple workers were honored, contrasting ancient and modern worker treatment

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed the "World Hindu Economic Forum" in Mumbai on Saturday.

Source : PTI

The hands of the workers who built the Taj Mahal were "chopped off" while the construction workers who worked at the Ram Temple construction site in Ayodhya were honoured, said Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The UP CM remarked while comparing the treatment of workers in India's historical and modern contexts.

"You would have seen how on January 22 [the day of Ram temple's consecration], Prime Minister Narendra Modi was giving respect to the workers who constructed the Ram Mandir," he said during an event in Mumbai. 

That is one side where the PM was raining flowers on them, but on the other hand, the situation before was such that the workers who constructed the Taj Mahal had their hands chopped off," he added. 

It has been widely claimed that 17th-century Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who commissioned the Taj Mahal, was ordered to chop off the hands of construction workers after the mausoleum was completed. However, there are no historical records to back the claim. 

The UP CM also said that workers in history the fine cloth industry workers' hands were also chopped off, destroying a whole tradition and legacy. 

"Today, India respects its labour force and gives them all kinds of protections. On the other hand, there were rulers, who chopped off the hands of labourers and destroyed the legacy of fine cloth, destroyed the tradition completely," he said at the World Hindu Economic Forum (WHEF).

Speaking further about India's history and heritage, Adityanath said the foreigners' bloodling in India cannot tolerate the country's progress or Indians gaining respect globally. 

During his address, Adityanath lauded the Prime Minister for bringing India out of the "identity crisis". 

"Before 2014, India was facing an identity crisis... We are grateful to the respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in the last 10 years has rescued India from the demonic rigidities and has shown us the vision of a 'New India'," he said.