Dehradun, Jul 22 (PTI) Uttarakhand Waqf Board chairman Shadab Shams on Tuesday accused Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav of using the mosque on Parliament Street in New Delhi for a political meeting and demanded an apology from him, saying it had hurt Muslim sentiments.
Shams was reacting to pictures shared by SP MP Dharmendra Yadav on X in which Akhilesh Yadav can be seen sitting along with several party MPs, including his wife Dimple Yadav, party MP from Rampur Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi and Sambhal MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq inside the mosque.
“Mosques are sacred centres of faith meant for offering prayers, not holding political discussions. By using the mosque for a political meeting with party MPs, Akhilesh Yadav has hurt the sentiments of Muslims. He should offer an apology to Muslims for what he has done,” Shams said.
Shams also accused Dharmendra Yadav of lying about the pictures by saying they were taken at the Delhi residence of Rampur MP Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi.
“The impressive facade and the interior of the mosque on Parliament Street are clearly visible in the pictures and can be easily identified. Dharmendra Yadav should not have lied about it,” the Waqf Board chairman said.
“At the Delhi residence of Rampur MP Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi ji” — wrote Dharmendra Yadav after posting the pictures on X.
Shams said Dharmendra Yadav was deliberately lying about the place where the pictures were taken as he was also aware that it was not correct to use the mosque for political purposes.
Shams said he was not against non-Muslims visiting mosques or non-Hindus entering temples but using the mosque for a political purpose went against the spirit of Islam. PTI ALM ALM KSS KSS
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