Malé, Maldives – Three political Maldives on Monday condemned the insult of Prophet Muhammad by two spokespersons of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Indian media reports that national spokeswoman Nupur Sharma was suspended from the party’s primary membership yesterday for remarks insulting Prophet Muhammad regarding his marriage to Aisha in a televised debate. Meanwhile, the party’s Delhi media operation head Naveen Kumar Jindal was also terminated for tweeting insulting sentiments towards the Prophet.
Facing growing backlash, BJP issued a statement underscoring its respect for all religions and their revered figures.
Maldivian political parties who have condemned the incident include Adhaalath Party, opposition PPM and MRM. Of the three parties, Adhaalath and MRM belong to the incumbent ruling coalition. Main ruling party MDP and the government have not commented on the issue.
While BJP has taken action against the individuals who perpetrated the offence, India is facing international backlash from the gulf and other Muslim majority countries.
Pakistan released a statement calling BJP’s attempted clarification and disciplinary action “belated and perfunctory” while Qatar “expressed its disappointment” and “called on the Indian government to immediately condemn these remarks and publicly apologise to all Muslims.”
A Twitter hashtag is also trending in the Arab world calling for a boycott of Indian products in some countries.
