Now, UP puts Taj on official calendar

Ayodhya: The Taj Mahal, caught in legacy controversy, has found pride of place in the 2018 calendar brought out by the UP government. The marble marvel features in July in the calendar brought out by the state information department.

After CM Yogi Aditya Nath called it the “pride of India”, UP tourism minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi sought to further clear the air on Wednesday by saying that MLA Sangeet Som, who had called the Taj a “blot on Indian culture and history”, is not “the government”. New Delhi: There is a need for serious public debate on the agendas of regional parties affecting national interests, especially in coalition governments where often the Prime Minister’s writ does not run fully and he may not have his way even in picking ministers and allotting portfolios, former President Pranab Mukherjee told TOI in the course of an extensive interaction on Wednesday.

Speaking on a range of issues he has dealt with in the course of a long public life, he said managing regional interests had been a problem under UPA and remains so even now despite the fact that the BJP has aclear majority in Lok Sabha.

“I feel coalition governments have a deficiency in that they are largely dominated by regional parties, and these regional parties are based in in-

Sangeet Som is not the government. I am part of the government. The government is CM Yogi and twice he has clarified on this issue. Even the Union tourism minister has given a very candid statement,” Joshi told TOIon the sidelines of a mega UP government event in Ayodhya.

“Taj is our pride. It is a great tourist attraction and we are proud that it is in UP. It’s a great monument of architecture. It’s our biggest asset and we have allocated Rs 150 crore for it. Also, the chief minister is going to lay the foundation there,” added Joshi.

She also announced that the BJP government had already dedicated Rs 150 crore for the monument’s upkeep. Also finding a place in the calendar is the Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur. The Gorakhnath Mutt is headed by CM Yogi.