Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala finance minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has accused the Sangh Parivar and its organisations of playing divisive politics using the Taj Mahal issue ahead of the parliamentary elections due to be held in 2019.

In the 2014 parliament elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had stormed to power, decimating the Congress. The Narendra Modi government’s term ends in 2019.

In a social media post, Isaac accused Sangh Parivar outfits of preparing the ground for the next stage of neo-Hindutva [Hindu nationalism ] strategies in line with the agenda that was triggered with the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, in 1992.

“One must deduce that the Sangh Parivar has decided to use the Taj Mahal as a tool to communally divide the country ahead of the next parliamentary election.

“There are 35 locations that have been accorded heritage status by the Unesco. In India, the top among them is the Taj Mahal, India’s amazing tourism icon. Eight million people visit the Taj annually and in 2020, it [that number] is estimated to touch 10 million”, Isaac wrote.

The finance minister warned that the Sangh Parivar had initially created a controversy around the Babri Masjid, stating that it was a disputed structure, before demolishing it, adding that the group was attempting to levying similar charges against the Taj Mahal.

Recently, the Uttar Pradesh government had dropped the Taj Mahal from the promotion material of its tourism department.

Isaac pointed out that the Archaeological Survey of India had officially stated that the monument was a Muslim graveyard, adding that he did not, however, think that the Sangh Parivar would take that for an explanation and be content with it.

Isaac goes on to say that it is “a tragedy” that the Taj Mahal, which has been a source of wonder for centuries to poets, writers, travellers and those who appreciate beauty, is being used by the Sangh Parivar to push its divisive agenda.

Isaac’s comments come at a time when the ruling Communist Party of India Marxist is in a battle of words with the BJP in Kerala, which presently has only a lone MLA in the state assembly. A number of senior BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah had been in the state in recent days to participate in a statewide rally held by the BJP.