PEOPLE HAVE RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT WAS THERE EARLIER: DIYA

Jaipur: Claiming that the land on which the Taj Mahal was built originally belonged to Jaipur’s ruler Jai Singh and it was acquired by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, BJP MP from Rajsamand Diya Kumari and member of erstwhile Jaipur royal family said that it should be investigated what was there before the monument was built and people have the right to know. There are records available with the Jaipur family and it would provide these, if required, she said.

“Compensation was given in lieu of the land but how much was it, whether it was accepted or not, I cannot say this because I have not studied the records which are there in our ‘pothikhana’. What I am saying is on behalf of what I have learnt and heard. But the land belonged to our family and Shah Jahan had acquired it,” she told the media persons here. Since there was no judiciary, no appeal could have been made at that time. Things will be clear only after examining the records, said Diya, also called Princess Diya Kumari locally.

Referring to the petition, she said that it was a valid point that the rooms should be opened and an investigation should be done.

“People should know why the rooms are locked there. There could have been anything before the Taj Mahal, may be a temple. People have the right to know what was there originally before the ‘maqbara’,” Diya said.