Maulana Sajid Rashidi has been booked for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav during a televised debate, an official said on Monday.
Maulana Sajid Rashidi has been booked for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav during a televised debate, an official said on Monday.
The FIR against cleric Rashidi was lodged at the Vibhuti Khand police station on Sunday evening on a complaint by local resident Pravesh Yadav. The remarks in question were allegedly made in response to Dimple Yadav's recent visit to a mosque, where the cleric reportedly commented inappropriately on her attire, reported PTI.
Earlier, the cleric had reportedly made a misogynistic comment about Yadav who was wearing a sari at a meeting in a mosque and compared her to another woman SP MP, Iqra Hasan, who had covered her head.
The complaint accused Rashidi of making statements that were not only derogatory and misogynistic, but also "highly provocative and aimed at inciting religious disharmony and communal tension," according to the FIR
He defended his remarks against Yadav, citing Islamic principles regarding conduct in mosques, sparking controversy and an FIR. He criticized Yadav's seating posture and SP MP Mohibbullah Nadvi's actions during her visit.
Amid widespread criticism over his remarks, Rashidi on Monday stood by his statements, claiming they were rooted in Islamic principles.
"As per the Islamic faith, I object to the way she (Dimple Yadav) was sitting inside the Mosque. It is not appropriate to sit like that inside a Mosque. She should have learnt from Iqra Hasan how to sit," quoted ANI.
"It would have been better had they stood with the women of Manipur. The way the leaders of the BJP gave statements on our army officers during Operation Sindoor, it would have been better if they (NDA) stood with them...," Dimple Yadav said in her statement to the media outside Parliament on Monday.