Vikram Chowdhary with his yoga students in front of Mehman Khana in the Taj Mahal complex. (PTI)

Lucknow, Dec. 27: A celebrity yoga guru conducted a mass drill inside the Taj complex, sparking a fresh salvo by the Uttar Pradesh government at the United Progressive Alliance ruling at the Centre.

Vikram Chowdhary is learnt to have taken several disciples to the Taj complex on Saturday afternoon. ?Some of Chowdhary?s followers were carrying video cameras. The disciples, spread out in an arch, carried out the guru?s instructions such as ?turn left?, ?look back? and ?sit with your legs up?, much to the surprise of some visitors,? according to Manish Lal, a tourist.

?The drill continued for more than two hours even as Central Industrial Security Force officers looked on,? claimed Lal. The tourist said the drill was captured on video. Videography is prohibited inside the Taj complex and photography is restricted with only licenced photographers allowed to shoot.

The news soon trickled down to the local media, which splashed it in Agra the next day.

The Uttar Pradesh government termed the incident a ?severe security lapse? and asked the Centre to hand over the responsibility of the monument?s security to the state if Delhi is unable to protect the Taj from these ?invaders?.

?We are aghast to learn how easily all rules of the Archaeological Survey of India were thrown to the winds,? Uttar Pradesh tourism minister Hameed Kokab said at a press conference today.

?I will talk to chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. The security situation of the monument is being monitored by the Supreme Court. If necessary, we will draw the attention of the apex court to this lapse.?

The ASI, a central government unit, is supposed to maintain the monument, while the CISF has been entrusted with its security.

Kokab said the way two dozen men practised yoga inside the Taj complex ?has also hurt the sentiments of a community in Agra?.

Chowdhary could not be contacted, but sources close to him said the yoga guru had taken verbal permission from the CISF for the drill.

?How were we allowed in otherwise?? asked one of his followers in Agra.

However, the ASI?s Agra circle superintendent, D. Dayalan said the organisation had never given any permission to Chowdhary for the exercise in the prohibited area.

?We are gathering evidence and will prosecute the accused if he is found to have violated the law,? he said.

The Taj has become the focus of a battle between the state and central governments. No Union minister had attended the monument?s 350 anniversary celebrations on September 27. The Union tourism department had also released a postal stamp to commemorate the occasion in Delhi, instead of Agra.