Mumbai, July 28 Senior Congress leader Hussain Dalwai on Monday condemned the controversial remark made by All India Imam Association Chairman Maulana Sajid Rashidi regarding Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav's attire, calling it "completely wrong" and "disrespectful".
Dalwai said such statements only serve to defame the Muslim community and reflect poorly on those who make them.
Speaking to IANS, Hussain Dalwai said: "He (Rashidi) has made a completely wrong statement. It is absolutely unacceptable to speak like this. Making comments about women—what they should wear, how they should live—is not appropriate. If someone comments about Muslim men, what kind of beard they keep or whether they wear a cap, we object to that. So, how is it right to speak about women in this way? Who gave them the right to dictate how someone should dress?"
"And what was the need to even look at Dimple Yadav’s back? Whether she covered it or not is nobody’s business. This is nonsense. In your view, there is always something wrong with others. I strongly condemn this. Speaking in such a way about women is completely wrong."
Action should be taken against Maulana Rashidi, Dalwai said: "Some Maulanas are constantly defaming the Muslim community. Not all of them - many of our Maulanas do excellent work. But in today’s environment, these few try to bring religion into everything. I am a Muslim at home, I am a Muslim in the mosque, but outside, I am an Indian citizen just like everyone else. My relationship with you should be as a fellow human being, not always through a religious lens. But such Maulanas create rifts and unknowingly help the RSS by deepening communal divide."
He went on to question the character of those making such remarks. "Their thinking is toxic, and that is why they speak like this. Dimple Yadav’s character is beyond reproach - I respect her deeply. Making such statements against a woman reveals more about the speaker than the person targeted. These are the same people who even comment about women in burqas when they walk outside."
The controversy began after Dimple Yadav, the Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri, attended a meeting at a mosque in Delhi earlier this month with her husband, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and other senior party leaders. During a television debate, Maulana Rashidi referred to a photograph from the meeting and remarked: "Look at her (Dimple Yadav’s) back. It is naked," referring to her saree.
The remark sparked widespread outrage.
Samajwadi Party leader Pravesh Yadav filed a police complaint in Lucknow, accusing Rashidi of making misogynistic and inflammatory comments.
"This has not only hurt the dignity of a woman but has affected the sentiments of every woman in society," said Yadav.
"Such indecent and anti-women remarks made from a public platform like a television debate can disrupt social harmony."
Following the complaint, police registered a case against Rashidi under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 79 (outraging the modesty of women), Section 196 (promoting enmity between groups), Section 299 (outraging religious sentiments), and Section 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace).
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