‘One of love treasures of the world’: Rubio at Taj

Agra: US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Monday visited the Taj Mahal, along with his wife, Jeanette Rubio, and a 60-member delegation, amid tight security in and around the 17th century monument. The entourage spent nearly an hour at the monument as guide Nitin Singh showed them around the place at a time when the morning temperature climbed to 40 degrees Celsius.Rubio described the Mughal-era structure as “one of the love treasures of the world”. “Thank you for allowing us to visit one of the love treasures of the world,” Rubio wrote on the visitor’s book.Rubio, who is on a four-day visit to India, arrived at Agra airport in a special aircraft around 10 am and travelled by car to a hotel near the eastern gate of the Taj Mahal before proceeding to the monument in a golf cart. During his visit, the traffic on the route was temporarily stopped.Upon his arrival in Agra, he was welcomed by Agra DM Manish Bansal, police commissioner Deepak Kumar and Air Officer Commanding of Agra Airbase, Air Commodore Jaipal Singh Rajput.Rubio was also accompanied by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. Gor also joined the Rubios for a photograph at the UNESCO World Heritage site. Under the 40 °C heat, Rubio removed the tie from his navy-blue suit, while Jeanette wore a flowing dress with heels.

Security was tightened around the Taj Mahal during the high-profile visit, and visitors present inside the monument complex were temporarily asked to move out, causing inconvenience to tourists. However, ASI sources told TOI that the Taj Mahal was not formally closed during the visit.After visiting the Taj, the entourage left for Jaipur.