Surendra Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Ballia is once again under the spot light for making a controversial statement. Hailing the Chief Minister as a descendant of Shivaji, Singh said the Agra's historical monument Taj Mahal will soon be renamed as Ram Mahal in the Yogi administration.
Speaking to media on Saturday, he claimed that Taj Mahal used to be a Shiva temple but the Muslim invaders destroyed it and turned into Taj Mahal to destroy the culture of India.
"The Taj Mahal was a Shiva temple. Muslim invaders adopted whatever bid they had to destroy the Indian culture. A golden opportunity has come, Shivaji's descendants have arrived on the land of Uttar Pradesh,” Surendra Singh.
Singh went on to say that, “Just as Samarth Guru Ramdas gave Shivaji to India, similarly Gorakhnath ji has given Yogi Adityanath to Uttar Pradesh."
This is, however, not the first time the BJP MLA made the shocking claim. Last year, he made controversial remarks over the brutal gang-rape of a teenage girl in Hathras. The MLA in a statement had said that rapes in the country can be stopped if girls are taught 'sanskaar'. This had triggered a heated debate among politicians.