Adityanath to visit Agra, says it doesn’t matter who built Taj Mahal

Agencies
October 17, 2017

Lucknow, Oct 17: Regardless of who built it, the Taj Mahal was a historical monument and its protection was the responsibility of the Uttar Pradesh government, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said today and announced that he would be visiting Agra next week to review tourism schemes.

The chief minister’s comments come a day after his colleague, BJP MLA Sangeet Som, questioned the Taj Mahal’s place in India’s heritage and said history would be rewritten to erase Mughal emperors from it.

“It is immaterial as to who and how the Taj Mahal was built... It was made by the sons of Bharat Mata... ,” the U.P Chief Minister said in Gorakhpur.

“It is famous the world over for its architecture... it is a historical monument and its protection and further development for tourism is the responsibility of the government,” he added.

Announcing that he would visit Agra on October 26 and that a ₹370 crore work plan for the city was in the offing, Adityanath said it was the duty of the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that proper security and facilities were extended to tourists.

“Our government is working for tourism development for the Kalinjer Fort (in Banda) and working for the Rani Laxmibai’s Fort in Jhansi as well as the Chunar Fort (in Mirzapur) and has prepared schemes for their development,” he said.

In Lucknow, Principal Secretary (Information) Awanish Awasthi told media persons that the chief minister would also visit the Agra Fort and review other schemes as well for the city.

Som’s comments on the Taj Mahal had come after the Adityanath government reportedly omitted the 17th century monument from an official booklet on tourist destinations.

“Many people are pained to see the Taj Mahal was removed from the list of places (tourist destinations). What type of history?” he had asked during a public meeting in Meerut on Monday.

His comments prompted an angry response from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi who asked if the government would tell tourists not to visit the monument.

The BJP stepped into the row with party spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao describing Muslim rule in India as “barbaric and a period of incomparable intolerance” while asserting that its members could hold any opinion they want on specific monuments.

Following the reports about the Taj Mahal being left out of the booklet, the state government had issued a press release stating, “Tourism projects worth ₹370 crore are proposed, under which schemes worth ₹156 crore for development of parks and various facilities are meant for the Taj Mahal and its surrounding areas in Agra.”

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
November 22,2025

Mangaluru: Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H has warned of strict action against individuals spreading rumours and attempting to create insecurity within the Muslim community and fuel hatred between Hindus and Muslims through social media.

Referring to a recent social media post alleging that police personnel had entered a masjid premises to check whether beef was being cooked, the commissioner said miscreants were attempting to push their communal agenda. 

“A group of people, both from Mangaluru and abroad, are trying hard to spread rumours. For the past 10 days, they have been attempting to rake up old issues, highlight routine matters as controversies, or fabricate news altogether,” he said.

He reiterated that any such attempts to disturb communal harmony would invite legal action. “Cases will be registered and the accused will be brought to book,” he stated.

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coastaldigest.com news network
November 29,2025

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Mangaluru, Nov 29: Around 12,500 healthcare students from Medical, Dental, AYUSH, Pharmacy, Nursing, Physiotherapy and Allied Health Sciences colleges of Dakshina Kannada, affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), took part in a massive walkathon to promote awareness on Organ Donation and Nasha Mukth Bharat.

The inaugural ceremony was held at Mangala Stadium. Dr Bhagavan B C, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor of RGUHS, delivered the welcome address. The walkathon was flagged off by Shri U T Khader, Hon’ble Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, and presided over by Shri Dinesh Gundu Rao, Hon’ble Minister for Health, Family Welfare and Dakshina Kannada District In-charge. Dakshina Kannada MP Shri Brijesh Chowta also addressed the students.

Music director Guru Kiran, MLA Dr Bharat Shetty (Mangalore North), Police Commissioner Shri Sudheer Kumar Reddy, Shri Manjunath Bhandary and Shri Harish Kumar were among those present.

Institution heads including Dr Haji U K Monu (Kanachur Colleges), Dr Shantharam Shetty (Tejaswini College), Dr Bhaskar Shetty (City Group of Colleges), Mr Abdul Rahiman (Kanachur Institute of Medical Sciences), and the District Health Officer, Mangalore, also participated.

The vote of thanks was delivered by Prof U T Ifthikar Fareed, Syndicate Member, RGUHS.

The event was organised by Dr U T Ifthikar Ali and Dr Shiva Sharan (Syndicate Members), Prof Vaishali (Senate Member), Prof Mohammad Suhail (Chairman, BOS Physiotherapy), Dr Sharan Shetty (Former Senate Member), along with principals and faculty of various colleges.

Students marched from Mangala Stadium to Karavali Grounds via MCC and Lalbagh signal. The event set a record as one of the largest gatherings of healthcare students for a social cause in the RGUHS Dakshina Kannada Zone.

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