LUCKNOW: Registration of a criminal case against Muslim cleric Maulana Sajid Rashidi for objectionable remarks against Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav has snowballed into a big political row.Rashidi had remarked over Dimple’s recent visit to a mosque with her husband and Kannauj MP Akhliesh Yadav along with other SP MPs, for a meeting.The case was registered at Vibhuti Khand Police station in Lucknow.While Maulana, on July 28, stood by his statement, saying it was being ‘unnecessarily stretched’, the NDA MPs protested against his statement at Parliament seeking SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s response over the statement.The Maulana had made a few derogatory remarks against the Mainpuri MP during a televised debate recently. The complaint, filed by a local resident, Pravesh Yadav, 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. Initially, a plethora of Muslim clerics gave their strong reactions against the SP MPs, led by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, visiting a mosque in New Delhi for political confabulations stating that the mosques were not the place for such meetings.The controversy deepened with cleric Maulana Sajid Rashidi’s comment that Dimple Yadav was inappropriately attired with her head uncovered on the mosque premises and that it was anti-Islamic. On July 28, the NDA MPs held a protest outside the Parliament against All India Imam Association (AIIA) President Maulana Sajid Rashidi’s derogatory remark against Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav.Even the SP MP Ikra Hassan from Kairana condemned the cleric’s statement calling it a shameful act and demanding strictest action against the Maulana.She said it was inappropriate to comment on the attire of a woman MP and that such people should face social boycott. “They are neither some religious heads nor are they custodians of any religions or faith. They do not have the right to give such sweeping comments over any woman MP,” said Hassan.
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