New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is following the "Raj Dharma" and setting new standards in governance, said UP-based Islamic cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan on Thursday.

Tauqeer Raza's showering praise for CM Yogi comes amid a huge uproar over his provocative remarks on the right-wing outfits RSS, Bajrang Dal and VHP.

The Islamic cleric has found himself in the crosshairs of the BJP over demanding an umbrella ban on Hindu outfits.

Speaking exclusively to IANS, Tauqeer Raza referred to an old Ayodhya incident and explained how Chief Minister Adityanath's upright governance ensured that the matter was not given a communal colour.

Raza, also the founder of Ittehad-e-Millat Council, a political party, made gushing praise for CM Yogi, saying that if the latter wanted, the Muslim community could have been shown in bad light as the circumstances favoured such an outcome.

"Some people wearing skull caps were headed towards a temple with beef. As they were caught, the state administration could have portrayed them as those belonging to a minority community but it probed and exposed the diabolical plot to foment trouble. The accused were given stern punishment for hiding their real identity and posing as belonging to the minority community," Raza stated while adding that "CM Yogi is following the Raj Dharma."

He further said that the Muslim clerics and Ulemas have no problem with the BJP dispensation at the Centre, however, added their patience was wearing thin over the government's "forced" amendment of the Waqf Act.

"The government is trying to meddle in our religious beliefs by amending the Waqf Act. We will never accept such interference and oppose it with all our might," he added.

Speaking on Kolkata horror, he said that the Mamata government was being unfairly targeted and the BJP was being vociferous in its protest because it wanted to draw political mileage from the issue.