Agra: Rashtriya Bajrang Dal's (RBD) women wing activists along with their district president performed 'aarti' and sprinkled 'Gangajal' in the Taj Mahal on Sunday. They were protesting against the alleged violation of the Archeological Survey of India's (ASI) norms, which among other things, restrict the offering of 'namaz' or prayer inside the premises of the UNESCO World Heritage Site on Fridays.
A video of the incident has gone viral where three women are seen entering the Taj Mahal carrying 'Ganga Jal' and chanting 'Om Namah Shivaya'.
District president of RBD's women wing, Meen Diwakar, said that her organisation would continue performing 'aarti' and purifying the Taj Mahal with Gangajal so long as the norms of ASI are flouted by others. She added that the administrative authorities could not stop them.
"The authorities need to stop them first, and then they can stop us," Diwakar said.
"Today we performed 'pooja' in our Taj Mahal, sprinkled Gangajal to purify it. Some people had made it impure by offering 'namaz'. They have Fridays for that purpose. That is why we performed 'aarti'," the RBD activist added.
She said that authorities have warned them of legal consequences. "That is good. There is no problem with that. If they can take their Qurans and offer 'namaz' inside the historical premises, why can't we take our 'pooja' materials inside? We went there in a peaceful manner. If the authorities think we have done something wrong, we will face the action. But first, they have to charge them too," she said.
In 2013, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had barred foreigners from offering Juma namaz or Friday prayers at Mumtaz Masjid following the entry of a group of Bangladeshi tourists to Taj Mahal.
(With inputs from ANI
