‘Accha hota jab…’: Dimple Yadav on protest against Moulana Sajid Rashidi’s ‘misogynistic’ remark, ‘cleric’ defends

Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dimple Yadav took a dig at the MPs of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Monday after they held protest against the ‘misogynistic’ remark made by a Muslim cleric.

Dimple Yadav said, “Accha hota jab Manipur jaisi ghatna hui thi, social media me videos aaye the, agar isi tarah pradarshan karti, Manipur ki mahilaon ke sath khadi rehti…[ It would have been better if they had protested against the Manipur incident, the videos of which were viral on social media.]”

“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 media outside Parliament on Monday.

Maulana Sajid Rashidi’s ‘misogynistic’ remark

All India Imam Association president Maulana Sajid Rashidi allegedly made objectionable and inflammatory remarks against Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav during a televised debate.

The remarks in question were reportedly made in response to Dimple Yadav’s recent visit to a mosque, where the cleric reportedly commented inappropriately on her attire.

A video clip from the debate was widely circulated on social media on Sunday.

NDA MPs held a protest outside the Parliament on Monday against Rashidi’s derogatory remark against Dimple Yadav.

FIR lodged against Maulana Sajid Rashid

An FIR was lodged against cleric Maulana Sajid Rashidi at the Vibhuti Khand police station on Sunday evening on a complaint by local resident Pravesh Yadav.

The FIRwas registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc), and 197 (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), among others.

Provisions under the Information Technology Act have also been invoked for the circulation of the content on digital platforms.

‘Extremely offensive’ remarks

According to news agency PTI, 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.

Pravesh Yadav alleged that Rashidi’s comments, made publicly on social media and national television, were “an affront to a woman’s personal dignity” and appeared to be a deliberate attempt to provoke unrest, it showed.

“He made extremely offensive, inflammatory, and anti-women remarks against honourable MP Mrs Dimple Yadav, wife of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, following her presence at a mosque on July 26,” Pravesh Yadav said in his written complaint.

“Such statements hurt not only women’s dignity but also threaten the unity, integrity, and peace of the nation,” he said.

Maulana Sajid Rashid: ‘It’s a common word’

Despite widespread criticism, Maulana Sajid Rashidi defended his comments saying, “My statement is being unnecessarily made into an issue to run a narrative. I did not say anything wrong…This issue has been blown out of proportion…”

“The word that I used is a common word, is used in the society I come from, when a girl does not have a ‘pallu’ on her head. That doesn’t mean that I am disrespecting someone. Will Dimple Yadav visit a temple in the same way? They have turned the mosque into an arena for politics,” he said.

Tge cleric said Yadav “should have learnt from Iqra Hasan how to sit” in the mosque.