Ponnar denies motive behind dropping Taj from tourism list

When asked about Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi criticising the Uttar Pradesh government for removing the Taj Mahal from the tourism list he replied that because of the inefficiency of the Congress government it was done 10 years before and at present the BJP government is doing a good job. 

The removal of Taj Mahal is unintentional but, however, he would comment on the issue once he received all the details, he said. He also said the Centre led by the BJP would never support sedition cases filed by any of the parties with the sole purpose of taking vengeance as the BJP itself had never taken any vengeance. 

When asked about the 10 percent entertainment tax collected for Tamil cinema, he replied that Tamil cinema is growing on a par with Bollywood and the Tamil Nadu government should take steps to encourage it and see to that the industry is not affected. 

There is a palpable sense of disquiet among the Muslims in Vellore district following the UP government removing the Taj Mahal from the state tourism booklet. They wondered at the need for this move given the fact that the monument attracts one fourth of tourists in India. “When there are more pressing problems for the UP government and the central government to solve, why has the government decided like this,” asks Imtiaz Hussain of Ambur. 

Abdul Hussain also from the same town says, “The UP Chief Minister would not have taken this decision, without getting clearance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it was sure to attract criticism.” Their anger is at Modi and not at the UP CM Yogi Adityanath. “When they could not ensure continued peace in many areas of UP affected by communalism, did they not realize that this move would only add to Muslim’s sense of injury?” asks Akbar Khan of Mel Visharam near Vellore.

Vellore district has a sizeable Muslim population in Vellore, Ambur, Gudiyattam, Pernambut, Ranipet and Arcot towns. Intelligence sources feel that Muslims’ feeling of alienation by the Centre has only increased due to the BJP’s short sighted moves.