Bring Kohinoor back, say MPs

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 28

Making a strong plea to bring back Kohinoor diamond from the UK, BJD member in the Lok Sabha Bhartuhari Mahtab said it belonged to Lord Jaganath Temple in Puri, Odisha, as Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh had desired so.

His contention to bring back Kohinoor got support from several members, including SAD member Prem Singh Chandumajra, who attacked the culture ministry for its stand in the Supreme Court.

Raising the matter during Zero Hour in the House, the BJD MP said this was an “issue of national pride and all of us should work together to retrieve the precious stone”. He dismissed the talk that the diamond was given as a gift to the Britishers and insisted that it was taken by them forcibly from Duleep Singh, son Maharaja Ranjit Singh.