All India Imam Association president Maulana Sajid Rashidi has urged Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to declare a Muslim candidate for chief minister ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Rashidi made the remarks while responding to AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s recent call for opposition parties to work together ahead of the polls. Owaisi has said AIMIM will announce its alliance decision by October 2 and has invited other parties to consider joining hands.
‘Muslims Are Not Born to Defeat BJP’
Speaking to IANS, Rashidi questioned the appeal to Muslims to unite against the BJP.
“Whichever party claims it wants to defeat the BJP is most probably in cahoots with them,” he alleged.
He said political parties have the right to contest elections and expand their organisations, but argued that Muslims should not be asked to vote with the sole aim of defeating one party.
“You can grow your party from any part of the country; you can fight elections from any part of the country, but you can’t instigate Muslims by saying we need to defeat the BJP,” Rashidi said.
He also questioned Owaisi’s remarks and asked why Muslims should be expected to defeat the BJP.
Rashidi Criticises Congress and SP
Rashidi also questioned the record of Congress and the Samajwadi Party when they were in power.
“For sixty five years Congress garnered Muslims’ votes… then it said Muslims of the country are living in worse conditions than Dalits,” he said.
He alleged that the SP had sought Muslim votes but later accused members of the community of being BJP agents.
Rashidi referred to an alleged incident involving Akhilesh Yadav and a Muslim journalist, claiming that the SP chief had called the journalist a BJP agent because he was Muslim and wore Ray Ban glasses.
He also alleged that Congress treated Muslims who wore expensive clothes, drove good cars or used branded accessories as BJP supporters. These were Rashidi’s allegations and were not independently established in the reports reviewed.
‘Declare a Muslim CM Candidate’
Rashidi then challenged Owaisi, Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi to declare a Muslim candidate for chief minister.
“Owaisi claimed the prime minister will be a Muslim, but would he declare a Muslim candidate for chief minister? I want to say the same thing to Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav; they should declare Muslim CM candidates in the upcoming elections,” he said.
Rashidi further said that if Rahul Gandhi announced a Muslim chief ministerial candidate, he would support Congress over the SP.
“I can assure that if Rahul Gandhi selects Muslim candidates for the upcoming elections, all our votes shall go to Congress and none to Samajwadi Party,” he said.
Rashidi Also Comments on Garba Controversy
Rashidi also commented on the recent controversy over Muslim participation in Garba events, which followed remarks by BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma in Madhya Pradesh.
Rashidi said Muslims should not participate in events involving idol worship, referring to Islamic teachings on shirk.
He also criticised Sharma’s remarks asking Muslims to bring their sisters and daughters to Garba events.
“Now they are even saying bring your mothers and sisters. What could be a worse or lower mentality than this?” Rashidi said.
He questioned whether BJP leaders would allow their own family members to visit a mosque and asked the BJP’s senior leadership whether action should be taken against such remarks.
