Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath on Thursday said there was no need to discuss who built the Taj Mahal after he visited the monument in Agra. “It was built by the blood and sweat of Indian labourers,” he added.

The chief minister said the security at the tourist destination was of prime importance. “Everyday 40,000-50,000 tourists come to Agra, if we can provide them adequate security, the number will rise to 2.5 lakh-3 lakh.” His comments gain significance as a Swiss couple was assaulted allegedly by a group of local men in Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. While the attack left the man with a fractured skull and impaired hearing, the woman suffered a broken arm.

Adityanath’s visit to Agra was seen by many as an attempt to do damage control after two Bharatiya Janata Party leaders commented on its origins, and after the Uttar Pradesh government was criticised for leaving it out of the state’s official tourism booklet. But the chief minister said that only those people were raising questions over his visit who have divided the society on the basis of castes.  

BJP MLA Sangeet Som had said the monument was built by traitors and was a “blot on Indian culture”, and later, another leader Vinay Katiyar claimed the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan had destroyed a Hindu temple “Tejo Mahalaya” to build the monument.

Adityanath is the first BJP chief minister of the state to visit the monument. More than 14,000 police personnel were deployed across the city for his security, according to PTI.

After the visit, Adityanath inaugurated some development projects in Agra, and visited the Nangla Paima and Kachhpura villages, the news agency said.