Rahul Gandhi calls UP CM Yogi Chaupat Raja'

Lucknow: A day after Taj Mahal controversy, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a jibe at Yogi government in Uttar pradesh, terming it as “Andher Nagri, Chaupat Raja (Useless ruler of a town plunging into darkness)”.

“The sun doesn’t lose any of its brightness if you fail to point a candle at it. It is this kind of rule that (poet) Bhartendu (Harishchandra) was referring to when he coined the phrase ‘andher nagri, choupat raja’ (useless ruler of a town plunging into darkness),” Mr Gandhi tweeted.

A controversy had erupted after a brochure released by UP government didn’t mention iconic Taj Mahal, a World Heritage Site, in its list of tourist spots in Uttar Pradesh. 

Hours after the news became public, the Uttar Pradesh government issued a press release, denying media reports about ignoring the Taj.

UP tourism minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi issued a statement late on Monday night claiming that the state government planned to spend '156 crores on projects around the Taj Mahal.

Though the statement did not offer any explanation for keeping the Taj Mahal out of the tourism booklet, the minister said that renovation of Mehtab Bagh was on the cards at a cost of Rs 22.9 crores while a sewage treatment plant was proposed for Kachhpura at a cost of Rs 3 crores.

“We are also planning a walkway between Taj Mahal and Agra Fort and the Shahjahan Park. A tourist reception centre on the west gate of the monument is proposed apart from developing the riverfront,” the minister stated.

Explaining the tourism booklet and the omission of Taj Mahal, principal secretary tourism, Avanish Awasthi, said that the booklet just included a few of the projects by the state and was in no way a reflection of the complete list of tourism projects.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath had recently criticised the custom of gifting Taj Mahal replicas to foreign dignitaries saying that it did not represent Indian culture.