An international diplomatic storm has engulfed India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the sanctioning of two party spokespersons over their derogatory remarks the pair made towards Prophet Muhammad PBUH).
BJP national spokeswoman Nupur Sharma has been suspended from the party’s primary membership for comments made in a recent television debate, while the BJP’s Delhi media operation head Naveen Kumar Jindal was also expelled.
BJP said, “Sharma is reported to have insulted the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and his wife Aisha in a TV debate last week. Following an outcry over the comments made during the debate, Sharma’s colleague Jindal is reported to have posted a now-deleted tweet about the prophet that also angered many.
The remarks have been blamed for clashes in an Indian state and prompted demands for the spokeswoman’s arrest in India.
India’s ambassadors to Kuwait and Qatar were summoned on Sunday to receive official notes of protest over the comments, and Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs issued a statement condemning the “highly derogatory remarks” and the BJP’s response.
“These totally unacceptable remarks have not only deeply hurt the sentiments of the people of Pakistan but of billions of Muslims around the world,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“BJP’s attempted clarification and belated and perfunctory disciplinary action against these individuals cannot assuage the pain and anguish they have caused to the Muslim world,” the ministry said.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation – the second-largest intergovernmental organisation in the world after the United Nations, with a collective population reaching over 1.8 billion – also added its voice to the condemnation.
“The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the recent insults issued by an official in the ruling party in India towards the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him,” the 57-member state organisation said in a statement.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Indian ambassador to present an official note “expressing the disappointment of the State of Qatar and its total rejection and condemnation to the controversial remarks”, the QNA state news agency reported.
While welcoming the BJP statement and suspension of staff, Qatar is expecting a public apology and condemnation of the remarks by the government of India.
“The State of Qatar calls on the Indian government to immediately condemn these remarks and publicly apologise to all Muslims around the world,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Mohammed Al Ansari said.
Kuwait also summoned the Indian ambassador and said it had handed the ambassador a protest note in which Kuwait rejected and denounced the statements made by the BJP official.
