Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan should also be demolished: Azam

Lucknow: Slamming Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sangeet Som for calling Taj Mahal a blot on Indian history as it was built by foreign rulers, firebrand Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan on Tuesday said that all 'symbols of slavery', including Parliament House and Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi, should be demolished.

Also Read: Sangeet Som calls Taj Mahal a ‘blot’ on Indian culture

"I won't respond to him (Som). But I have always been saying that all symbols of slavery in India should be demolished. It is true that Mughals conquered India. But I won't get into how they came and who brought them to India because it will create a bitter debate. Some people will mind my opinion about that because they don't like the truth," Azam said, speaking to a TV channel.

Also Read: UP govt distances itself from Sangeet Som’s Taj Mahal remark

"Why only the Taj Mahal? Why not the Parliament? Why not the Rashtrapati Bhavan? Why not the Qutub Minar? Why not the Red Fort in Delhi? Why not the Agra Fort? These are the signs of traitors."

Without naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Khan, known for his sharp comments aimed at his political rivals, said he had already made an appeal to the "Baadshah" and to the "younger Baadshah" that they should move forward in razing down these monuments "built by traitors and we will follow them".

Also Read: Taj Mahal important, doesn’t matter who built it: Yogi Adityanath

"Let theirs be the first blow (to demolish these monuments) and mine will be the second," he said.