Jaipur, May 11: 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 Diya Kumari claimed on Wednesday, asserting that records are available with the erstwhile Jaipur royal family.
She also supported a petition in the Allahabad High Court, seeking a fact-finding inquiry into the "history" of the Taj Mahal and also opening of the doors of its "22 rooms" to see "the truth, whatever it is".
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, Kumari, a member of the erstwhile Jaipur royal family, 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'. But the land belonged to our family and Shah Jahan had acquired it, she told reporters here.
Since there was no judiciary, no appeal could have been made at that time. Things will be clear only after examining the records, the BJP leader said.
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', Kumari said.
She said that she has not studied the records and can reach a conclusion only after examining them.
What I am saying is on behalf of what I have learnt and heard. I have not studied the records. We can provide the records to the court if necessary. Only after examining the records, we can reach a conclusion, Kumari said.
The writ petition was filed on Saturday in the registry of the Lucknow bench of the high court by Rajneesh Singh, who is the media in-charge of the BJP's Ayodhya unit.
The petition would come up before the court for a hearing after it is passed by the registry.
In the petition, I have demanded that the 22 doors of rooms of the monument which are closed should be opened to see the truth, whatever it is, Singh told PTI on Sunday.
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Bengaluru: South Western Railway (SWR) is installing a network of 943 CCTV cameras having AI technology in 79 stations, entering into coordination with RailTel Corporation of India Limited.
According to a report by Deccan Herald, the CCTV cameras will be connected to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Command and Control Centre (CC Centre) in Hubballi to enhance passenger safety and also to keep vigil over the public movement in railway stations. The system helps the RPF staff in Hubballi to monitor the real time status of even smaller railway stations through the CCTV camera surveillance and alert local staff in case of any suspicious activities or safety concerns.
This is a major step of upgrade of security in the railway stations under the Hubballi Division of the SWR as only seven major stations in the Division were provided CCTV camera surveillance a few years ago. While the Hubballi Division has 123 stations, including halt stations, up to 79 stations will now be monitored through CCTV cameras.
Also, new buildings and better amenities have been provided to all important and small stations in Hubballi Division.
SWR officers have reportedly said that the camera installation work is completed, with more than half of the cameras already being connected to the CC Centre in Hubballi.
RPF Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Alok Kumar has said that smaller railway stations like Saunshi or Yalavigi too can be monitored through CCTV cameras at the CC Centre in Hubballi.
He explained that AI technology has enabled CCTV cameras that can recognize faces, count passengers, and also have colour scenes. In addition, they are equipped with video analytic facilities supporting greater efficiency in monitoring the movements of people and surveillance and security in these railway stations. The remaining railway stations will be connected with the CCTV cameras network in the next phase, he added.