Saudi Arabia has slammed Nupur Sharma’s remarks on Prophet Muhammad and welcomed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) move to suspend its spokeswoman.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry, led by Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud, reiterated the country's position calling for respect of beliefs and religions.
The BJP suspended Nupur Sharma and expelled Naveen Jindal, read a statement on Sunday afternoon, stressing that the ruling party is “against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion.”
“The BJP does not promote such people or philosophy…During the thousands of years of the history of India every religion has blossomed and flourished. The Bharatiya Janata Party respects all religions,” it underlined in a statement.
Riyadh is the latest to condemn the remarks. Qatar, Kuwait and Iran summoned the Indian envoy on Sunday amid widespread calls on social media for a boycott of Indian goods in the Gulf.
India has said that the remarks were made by "fringe elements" and did not reflect the government's opinion. It has also highlighted that the ruling BJP has taken action against the leaders -- one of whom was the party's national spokesperson and the other its media chief.
Last week, in the backdrop of a series of communal incidents across the country, BJP national spokesperson Nupur Sharma made a comment during a TV debate purportedly insulting the Prophet. Naveen Jindal. who heads BJP’s Delhi media, posted a tweet about the Prophet, which he later deleted.
The BJP has suspended Nupur Sharma from the party's primary membership and expelled Naveen Jindal from the party.
Their comments were criticized by Muslim groups in India and triggered violence in BJP-ruled north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Forty people were injured in Kanpur when two groups clashed after Friday prayers.
