LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday said the Centre and state governments should treat all religions equally but alleged that step-motherly treatment is being meted out to Muslims.

In a post in Hindi on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said such discrimination can be detrimental to peace and harmony in the society, which is a matter of great concern.

"India is a secular country that respects all religions. In such a situation, the central and state governments should treat the followers of all religions equally without any bias, but the step-motherly treatment being meted out to Muslims in religious matters is not justified," she said.

"The rules and laws related to restrictions and exemptions regarding festivals of all religions should be implemented equally without any bias, which does not seem to be happening.

"It is natural for peace and mutual harmony in the society to deteriorate due to this, which is a matter of great concern. Governments must pay attention to this," she said in another post.