Yogi targets SP over ‘Aurangzeb Museum’, vows to build Shivaji Memorial

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a sharp attack on the Samajwadi Party (SP) over its earlier plan to construct a museum dedicated to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Agra, asserting that his government will instead complete a grand museum in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji by the end of this year. Speaking at a public function in Agra, Adityanath said that public funds would not be used to honour “invaders” and should instead be dedicated to national heroes. “In Agra, the city where Chhatrapati Shivaji displayed his valour, the SP government was building a Mughal Museum,” he said.

“Public funds will not be used for a museum named after an invader. A grand museum in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji will be completed by the end of this year. We have also approved the acquisition of the ‘kothi’ in Agra where Shivaji had stayed,” the chief minister added.

During his visit, Adityanath inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 53 development projects worth over Rs 342 crore. He used the occasion to intensify his criticism of previous governments, accusing the SP and the Congress of corruption and misgovernance.

“Those in power before 2017 were focused on their own development. Public funds became a medium for the ‘Saifai Syndicate’ to engage in loot and dacoity,” he alleged. He further accused them of depriving youth of job opportunities, misappropriating welfare schemes, and undermining farmers’ prosperity.

The chief minister claimed that such governance had led to an “identity crisis” among youth, farmer distress, and insecurity among women and traders. Taking an apparent dig at former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, he remarked that a state where leadership lacked discipline and commitment could only be “saved by God.”

Adityanath said that law and order in Uttar Pradesh had significantly improved under his administration. “There were times when anarchy, curfews, and mafia rule prevailed. Today, there are no riots or curfews. Everything is truly ‘changa’ in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

Highlighting development initiatives in Agra, the chief minister said steps had been taken to establish an international airport, adding that the city is emerging as a major hub for industry and tourism in the Braj region due to improved connectivity.

He also referred to a recent Supreme Court order allowing the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) Authority to process around 400 pending applications for setting up non-polluting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the ecologically sensitive zone around the Taj Mahal.

The court, however, directed that each proposal must be scrutinised by experts from the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). Any proposal facing objections would require the court’s approval before proceeding.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, heard the matter related to industrial activity in the 10,400-square-kilometre TTZ, where strict environmental regulations have been in place since 1996 to protect the Taj Mahal from pollution.