‘Rising Muslim population’ to end BJP rule in UP, claims SP's Mehboob Ali; booked

Mehboob Ali is a Samajwadi Party MLA from Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. (Screengrab)

Samajwadi Party MLA Mehboob Ali was booked on Monday over his remarks that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s rule in Uttar Pradesh was heading for its end as the “Muslim population is increasing in the country”.

“Your (BJP’s) rule will come to an end. The population of Muslims is increasing. We will come to power,” Ali said addressing a public gathering in Bijnor.

“The Mughals ruled for 850 years, and those who are burning the country must note that the people have woken up. They gave a reply in Parliament (polls), and in the coming days, in 2027, you will surely go and we will come,” Ali, the SP MLA from UP’s Amroha, said.

Samajwadi Party MLA Mehboob Ali's statement, ''The Muslim population has increased, now your rule will end,'' reflects the anti-Hindu stance within the party.Despite India being 80% Hindu, SP leaders allow such divisive remarks, showing their true intentions. pic.twitter.com/z1F7QiOJI5
Vishnu Vardhan Reddy (@SVishnuReddy) September 30, 2024

According to news agency ANI, an FIR has been registered against the SP MLA and Bijnor SP chief Shaikh Zakir Hussain at the Kotwali City PS in connection with the alleged statement made by Mehboob Ali. The FIR states that the MLA made a statement "promoting enmity and hatred between Hindus and Muslims on the basis of religion".

The remarks by the Samajwadi Party MLA were shared widely on social media leading to immense backlash from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“Samajwadi Party MLA Mehboob Ali’s statement… (that) ‘Muslim population has increased, now your rule will end,’ reflects the anti-Hindu stance within the party. Despite India being 80% Hindu, SP leaders allow such divisive remarks, showing their true intentions,” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Pooawallah posted on social media platform X.

“They often complained about 80:20 statement – who does 80 vs 20 is before you. Is this Muhabbat ki Dukaan? Is it pro constitution or secular? Plan is clear - Divide Hindus & Unite Muslim votebank?” he wrote further.

Notably, a working paper published by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) members in May this year showed that Hindu population in India reduced by 7.81 percent from 1950-2015 while the share of the Muslim population rose 43.15 percent during the same period.

As per the report, the share of Muslim population in 1950 was 9.84 percent and increased to 14.09 percent in 2015, a 43.15 percent increase in their share.

On the other hand, India witnessed a reduction in the share of the majority religious denomination by 7.81 percent from 1950-2015 (from 84.68 percent to 78.06 percent), the paper said.