No decision on excavation at Qutub Minar, says Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy

Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy. File Pic

Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy on May 22 denied media reports claiming that the Archaeological Survey of India would be conducting an excavation at the Qutub Minar complex.

Reddy said, "No such decision has been taken."

Several reports have claimed that the Ministry of Culture instructed the ASI to conduct the excavation and iconography of idols at Qutub Minar to ascertain the facts about the structure.

As per the reports, an ex-ASI officer claimed that the Qutub Minar was not built by Qutb al-Din Aibak, and was actually built by Raja Vikramaditya to study the direction of the Sun.

Likewise, recently the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) spokesman, Vinod Bansal claimed that Delhi's famous monument Qutub Minar was actually "Vishnu Stambh". He said that the monument was built with materials obtained after demolishing 27 Hindu-Jain temples.

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