
"Would have been better if they stood with Manipur women": Dimple Yadav on NDA protest over cleric's remark
Jul 28, 2025
New Delhi [India], July 28 : Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav on Monday said that instead of protesting over the misogynistic remark made against her recently by a Muslim cleric, BJP leaders should have spoken out on the Manipur incident.
She said it would have been better if they had supported the women of Manipur and stood with the army during Operation Sindoor.
Addressing reporters outside Parliament, Dimple Yadav said, "... 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..."
Earlier in the day, NDA MPs held a protest outside the Parliament against All India Imam Association (AIIA) President Moulana Sajid Rashidi who has come under heavy criticism for his alleged remarks targeting the Samajwadi MP for not covering her head while visiting a mosque in Delhi with her husband and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Meanwhile, AIIA President Moulana Rashidi clarified that he had only bjected to the way she sat inside a mosque, which he claimed was not appropriate as per Islamic practices.
He also criticised Samajwadi Party MP Mohibbullah Nadvi, saying he should have corrected her and that bringing tea and snacks inside a mosque goes against Islamic rules.
"As per the Islamic faith, I object to the way she (Dimple Yadav) was sitting inside the Mosque. As per the Islamic faith, it is not appropriate to sit like that inside a Mosque. She should have learnt from Iqra Hasan how to sit... The Maulana who was present there (SP MP Mohibbullah Nadvi) is no longer a Maulana; he is an MP now. He was not authorised to sit there. He is a Samajwadi Party MP. He is sitting there with joined hands like a slave. Would he have had the courage to tell the Supremo's wife that she is sitting in the wrong position? The biggest perpetrator is him... Had he been a Maulana, he would have immediately objected and said that a Mosque is not a place for having discussions... He had to bring tea and snacks for Akhilesh Yadav in the Mosque, which is against Islam," Rashidi said.
Rashidi said he is being targeted for speaking out based on his religious beliefs. He also claimed he is facing threats, including against his daughter.
"The Constitution says that every religion has its beliefs and it is one of the fundamental rights to propagate those beliefs... This photo was clicked and uploaded to social media to insult Muslims and to show them that they will be used to reach the Parliament, but they have no value... This has been done deliberately, and the entire community is outraged... I spoke up, and an FIR is filed against me... I am being abused, I am being threatened, they are threatening me about my daughter... Akhilesh Yadav is getting this done... I have the 'Thekedari' of Islam... I did not say anything that was so objectionable that an FIR is registered against me... Women being raped on the road is not a big incident, but showing the mirror to one woman is a huge incident for them... I am being targeted for being a Muslim," Rashidi said.