Qutub Minar: Modi govt denies ordering excavation, rejects reports amid Gyanvapi mosque row

Amid reports that the Narendra Modi government had ordered excavation at the Qutub Minar complex in Delhi, Union culture minister issued a clarification. G. Kishan Reddy told reporters that the government had taken no such decision, and the Archaeological Survey of India, or ASI has been given no such task.

Earlier, some news reports had suggested that the Ministry of Culture had ordered excavation and iconographic survey at the 12th-century monument. The reports emerged amid claims that some idols of Hindu gods had been found at the minaret.

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There is also a growing chorus that the monument was built by Raja Vikramaditya, a Hindu emperor. Some right-wing groups have demanded that the Qutub Minar be renamed Vishnu Stambh.

G. Kishan Reddy said, "A lot of things are reported in media. But Culture department's Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has not taken any decision. We haven't received any directions from courts. There is no question of such us having such a discussion."