Assam BJP MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi has called for the demolition of the Taj Mahal and Qutub Minar, alleging that the former was built with “our” money, taken from Hindu kings. In videos circulating online, the Mariani MLA calls for the monuments to be replaced with the “world’s most beautiful temples”.

Assam BJP MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi has sparked controversy by allegedly calling for the demolition of Taj Mahal and Qutub Minar in videos widely circulating online. He claimed that Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal for his fourth wife, Mumtaz, did not truly love her because he married three more times after her death. Kurmi demanded that the two monuments be replaced with the world’s most beautiful temples and he was willing to donate a year’s salary towards their construction. Kurmi’s comments come amid criticism of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for allegedly dropping references to the dislike of Hindu extremists for Mahatma Gandhi’s Hindu-Muslim unity and for banning the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh from new class 12 political science and history textbooks.