Akhilesh Yadav criticises BJP for Bismillah Khan’s Varanasi house demolition; officials and family deny government involvement. On 7 November 2026, a portion of the Varanasi house belonging to late shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan was demolished. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav publicly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the demolition, describing it as an affront to the country’s shared cultural legacy.