New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday strongly criticised Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav after photos went viral showing him and other MPs sitting inside a mosque near Parliament.

Naqvi questioned the use of religious places for political purposes, calling it a mockery of secular values.

Speaking to IANS, Naqvi said, “You should conduct your political programs in your party office, in halls, or at public spaces — but not in temples, mosques, or gurdwaras. If you hold political programs inside a mosque and then claim that it is a symbol of secularism, then that is a complete betrayal of the very idea of secularism.”

The photographs, which surfaced on social media Tuesday evening, showed Akhilesh Yadav sitting along with several party MPs, including his wife MP Dimple Yadav, inside a mosque at Parliament Street.

While SP leaders termed it a “casual visit” and “private moment of reflection,” BJP leaders have accused them of mixing religion with politics to trigger polarisation.

Naqvi, a prominent Muslim face in the BJP, said that the opposition must not use sacred spaces as platforms for political optics. “Secularism means distancing religion from politics, not showcasing political unity inside a religious space to gain mileage,” he remarked.

In the same interaction, Naqvi also commented on the ongoing review of the voter list in Delhi, asserting that the exercise should focus on identifying and removing illegal voters. “Unfortunately, some people seem more concerned with safeguarding the illegal voters,” he said, adding, “They are trying hard to protect these illegal voters and are adding a communal flavour to it to create polarisation.”

Naqvi warned that such attempts threaten the democratic process and insisted that only legitimate voters should be allowed to participate in elections.

–IANS

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