The ruling party in India, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Sunday suspended its National Spokesperson Nupur Sharma following boycott calls against India in the Arab world over her blasphemous remarks about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The BJP leader made the remarks during a show about Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute on May 26.
Besides suspending Sharma to prevent further damage to its reputation, the BJP has put out a statement saying it respected all beliefs and denounced disparaging remarks against any religious personality.
A disciplinary committee said the BJP believes the comments were contrary to its position.
Following the controversial remarks, three first information reports (FIRs) were registered against Sharma while Friday witnessed violent protests in Kanpur after which at least 24 people were arrested.
Boycott calls in Arab world
But BJP was forced to retreat only after it faced calls for a boycott of Indian products in the Middle East.
Superstores in Saudia Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain removed Indian products in recent days.
Several trends under hashtags calling for the boycott of Indian products were visible on social media in Arab countries.
As the boycott gained momentum, BJP announced the suspension of Sharma from the party position but stopped short of taking more strict action.
People demand action beyond suspension
The leniency seems to be validated by the claims of the suspended leader who says the BJP’s leadership is still rallying behind her.
While giving an interview, she claimed that the prime minister’s office and other wings of the party are still rallying behind her.
After emergence of this video, people are demanding action from BJP beyond Sharma’s suspension. They have also sought clarification from the BJP’s top leadership on the latest assertions of the suspended leader.
SAMAA
