Lucknow: Maulana Sajid Rashidi is no stranger to controversy. The Delhi-based president of the All India Imam Association has been in the news many times for making provocative statements, especially during TV debates. Now, Rashidi finds himself facing another political storm over an inappropriate comment he made about Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dimple Yadav, who is also the wife of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
After the show aired, a group of Samajwadi Party workers slapped Maulana Rashidi at a TV set in Noida. UP police sources told ThePrint that SP workers who slapped Rashidi have been identified as Shyam Singh Bhati, national secretary of the SP Advocate Sabha; Mohit Nagar, district president of the SP student wing, Gautam Budhha Nagar; Prashant Bhati, state secretary of the party’s student wing; and Kuldeep Bhati, an SP worker.
As a video of Rashidi’s comment began to circulate on social media, a case was registered against him at Vibhuti Khand police station in Lucknow, on a complaint by SP worker Pravesh Yadav.
Speaking to ANI after the incident, Rashidi later defended his remarks. “She (Dimple) didn’t abide by Islamic beliefs while sitting in the mosque. Iqra Hasan’s ears and nose are covered. On the other hand, there is Dimple Yadav … The question is, will Akhilesh Yadav file an FIR against the person who took this picture (of the mosque visit),” he said.
“I will also go to the police and submit the phone numbers from which I received threats. I will file a case against Akhilesh and Dimple Yadav because it is their workers who are sending threats,” he added.
Reacting to the controversy, Dimple Yadav told reporters, “It’s good that an FIR was registered. It would have been better if they had protested when the incidents against women happened in Manipur. After Operation Sindoor, BJP leaders made indecent remarks against our armed forces officers. It would have been better if they had stood against it.”
Following a police complaint by the TV news channel, a case has been registered at Noida’s Sector 126 police station against Maulana Sajid Rashidi, Shyam Singh Bhati, Mohit Nagar and Kuldeep Bhati. Police are currently investigating the matter.
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Maulana Sajid Rashidi’s controversial past
President of the All India Imam Association, an organisation of Imams of mosques in India, Maulana Sajid Rashidi has been in the news many times in the past for his provocative religious and social statements, especially on television.
At the time of the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, he said he voted for the BJP to dispel fear among Muslims about supporting the party and to challenge the belief that Muslims don’t support the BJP. BJP leader Amit Malviya even shared Rashidi’s video online during the Delhi polls to claim that a large number of Muslims were supporting the BJP now.
Rashidi later clarified that his real intention was to make the Muslim community politically independent.
He also supported the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, calling it a revolutionary step to safeguard the rights of the Muslim community. He also accused those opposing the law of trying to provoke unrest and urged the government to check the properties of those opposing it.
In response to the Pahalgam terror attack, he blamed Pakistan, saying its actions were tarnishing the image of Indian Muslims. He even said that, if necessary, he was ready to go to the border himself to teach Pakistan a lesson.
In an interview with ANI in 2023, he made a controversial comment about 17th-century Maratha ruler Shivaji, downplaying his contributions. In 2023, he claimed that Mahmud of Ghazni was right to demolish the Somnath temple, alleging that “wrong things” were happening there. He later apologised after a backlash and an FIR from the Somnath Trust.
In 2024, he drew flak for comments made during a TV debate. Loni BJP MLA Nand Kishor Gurjar filed a complaint against him, accusing him of hurting the sentiments of Hindus.
Back in 2022, Rashidi supported threats issued against then BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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