Taj Mahal is property of ASI, says UP BJP chief

Uttar Pradesh BJP President Laxmikant Bajpayee today said the Taj Mahal cannot be handed over to Waqf board as the monument belongs to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

"Shahjahan had purchased it. It cannot be handed over to Waqf board because it is the property of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) which was handed over by British Government in 1920 to it," he told mediapersons.

The state BJP chief was commenting over the statement of Uttar Pradesh Minister and senior SP leader Azam Khan who demanded to hand over the Taj Mahal to Waqf board.
On November 13, Khan had said that the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world, should be declared a property of the state's Waqf Board.

Bajpayee told reporters yesterday that Mughal emperor Shah Jahan "purchased a part of Tejo Mahalaya temple's land from Raja Jai Singh" and claimed that documents to prove it still exist.