New Delhi, Feb. 3 -- Samajwadi Party MPs on Tuesday protested over the alleged breaking of an idol of Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar during the redevelopment of Manikarnika Ghat in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi.

Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav criticised the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government, accusing it of harming the state's heritage.

He said, "They vandalised Manikarnika Ghat. An idol of Ahilya Bai, among other idols, was vandalised. Varanasi has an ancient culture...PM is an MP from Varanasi. To keep the culture of Varanasi intact, the public there sees to it that no such changes take place there so that their old identity and culture are not harmed. They are not safeguarding the heritage but harming it instead."

The oppo...