Azamgarh, Apr 11 (PTI) Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav on Friday accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of “encouraging” the Karni Sena and said the fringe group’s “unlawful and disruptive” actions were being carried out with the state’s backing.

The MP from Azamgarh said the Karni Sena “is being run by the government” and added that the fringe group would not survive “even for an hour” if the regime truly intended to stop it.

“The chief minister is actively encouraging them. The kind of lawlessness and illegal path adopted by them cannot happen without state support,” he said.

Referring to the recent controversy surrounding Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman, Yadav said, “If anyone thinks they can commit injustices against backward, oppressed and Dalit communities, including respected Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman, then they are mistaken.” Suman had stoked a row over his remark calling Rajput warrior king Rana Sanga a “traitor”.

The Samajwadi Party MP said that if Suman made any statement, he did so based on facts and evidence, and such issues can be debated democratically.

“But the path chosen by Karni Sena is neither democratic nor legal and members of the PDA (‘picchde’ = backward, Dalit and ‘alpashankhak’= minorities) family will not tolerate such lawlessness in any form,” he added.

Suman’s residence in Agra was attacked allegedly by the Karni Sena members last month over his remark on Sanga.

Yadav also voiced strong concerns over the recently passed Waqf (Amendment) Act and said the current BJP-led government at the Centre cannot be trusted.

“This government has deliberately violated the 1991 Places of Worship Act and created unrest, tension and chaos across various parts of the state,” he said.

“It is all pre-planned, and any assurance from this government is untrustworthy,” he added.

The Samajwadi Party MP argued that if the government had good intentions, it would have made necessary provisions in the law.

“What was the problem in including those safeguards if the intentions were honest?” he asked.

Yadav accused the government of targeting the Muslim community through the Waqf Act, claiming the real aim is to seize their lands.

“They are making excuses like no rent is coming in or the properties aren’t generating income. What kind of revenue does the government expect from graveyards? Who is going to pay taxes coming out of a ‘kabristan’?” he asked.

The Samajwadi Party MP said that the Waqf Act was designed solely to tamper with and challenge Waqf lands.

“There was a long debate in Parliament, yet the government failed to explain what the actual shortcomings in the Waqf system were,” he added.

The Centre on Tuesday notified the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, which got the assent of President Droupadi Murmu on April 5 after its passage from Parliament following heated debates in both houses.

The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it.

It was cleared by the Lok Sabha with 288 members supporting it and 232 against it. PTI COR KIS AS AS