Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court received a petition demanding directives to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to open the 20 locked rooms inside the Taj Mahal where Hindu idols and inscriptions are claimed to be hidden. The petition was moved by BJP media-in charge of Ayodhya district Rajneesh Singh, who wants to ascertain whether the claim IANS reported.
"There is an old controversy related to the Taj Mahal. Around 20 rooms in the Taj Mahal are locked, and no one is allowed to enter. It is believed that in these rooms there are idols of Hindu gods and scriptures," said Rajneesh Singh claimed on Sunday. "There is no harm in opening these rooms and setting to rest all controversies," Singh added.
The plea demanded the court issue directives to the state government to form a committee to examine the rooms and search for evidence related to the Hindu idols or scriptures.
Rajnish said that he has been in pursuit of understanding the facts about the 20 locked rooms through the Right to Information Act (RTI) since 2020. He received a reply from the Union ministry of Culture that the rooms were locked due to security reasons, but no details were provided, he said.
There are claims by many right-wing organisations that the Taj Mahal is the ancient Hindu Temple 'Tejo Mahalaya'.
In the meantime, a Mathura court has reserved its verdict on Krishna Janmabhoomi- Shahi Idgah Mosque case on May 19th.