Noted constitutional lawyer and member of Rajya Sabha Fali Nariman said that Taj Mahal should be declared as a national heritage by the government of India. He did not agree with stand of H R Bhardwaj, minister for law and justice that the government of India would move the Supreme Court against the claim of the Waqf Board that Taj Mahal belongs to the Board.
Talking to newsmen outside the Parliament house, Nariman said that the legal process is long and cumbersome and the government should act firmly in this matter.
The Waqf Board had recently staked claim on various monuments including Taj Mahal claiming that these properties should be handed over to the board for maintainance. The board had also demanded that Muslims should be allowed to offer namaz at the Taj Mahal.
"Under Item 67 of line 1 of the seventh schedule, the government of India can bring an ordinance or enact a law in the Parliament and declare Taj Mahal and other properties as national heritage and take over them under their custody," Nariman said, who moved a private member's bill on this matter in the Rajya Sahba.
He agreed with the suggestion that if the Waqf Board is allowed to take over the Taj Mahal then it would take years to get the vacation of the monument. "I do not know why the law minister paid me a left handed compliment in the House and said that the government would move the Supreme court instead of acting swiftly and bringing an ordinance to prevent taking over of the monument by the Waqf Board," he said.