Saffron activists offer Gangajal inside Taj Mahal; video goes viral

Lucknow: Two saffron activists on Saturday managed to enter the Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh's Agra town with bottles carrying 'Gangajal' (sacred water from the Ganga) and offered the same at the doors of the cellar inside the main tomb.

The duo, identified as Vinesh Choudhary and Shyam Kumar, were later nabbed by the CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) and handed over to the police, according to reports.

A video showing the two youths offering water from a bottle at the doors of the cellar inside the main tomb in the monument also went viral on social media platforms.

All India Hindu Mahasabha (AIHM) spokesman Sanjay Jat said that the duo, who were members of the Mahasabha, offered 'Gangajal' at the 'Tejo Mahalaya' (the saffron activists consider Taj Mahal as a temple of Lord Shiva and refer to the same as Tejo Mahalaya).

A senior police official in Agra said that a case was registered against the two youths at Tajganj police station and further investigation in the matter was on.

Earlier, another AIHM activist Mira Rathore had reached the Taj Mahal carrying a 'kanwar' (a pair of earthen pitchers containing Gangajal to be offered at Shiva temples during the auspicious month of Shravana) and tried to enter the monument but was not allowed to enter the premises.

The saffron outfits consider Taj Mahal to be a Shiva temple, which they claim was demolished by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and converted into a mosque.

Right-wing activists had, in the past, recited 'Shiv Chalisa' (hymns praising Lord Shiva) inside the Taj Mahal complex on the occasion of 'Mahashivratri'. Some members of Hindu Jagaran Manch, a saffron outfit, including its district president Gaurav Thakur, were arrested by the police after they waved saffron flags inside the monument a few years ago.