“We condemn the offensive comments made by two BJP officials and we were glad to see that the party publicly condemns those comments,” Ned Price, State Department spokesman, told reporters on Thursday.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — The United States has condemned the intemperate remarks against Prophet Muhammad about and his wife revered Hazrat Aisha by suspended Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled Delhi media cell in-charge Naveen Jindal. The remarks triggered global outrage and widespread protests across several states of India.
“We condemn the offensive comments made by two BJP officials and we were glad to see that the party publicly condemns those comments,” Ned Price, State Department spokesman, told reporters on Thursday.
“We regularly engage with the Indian government at senior levels on human rights concerns, including freedom of religion or belief, and we encourage India to promote respect for human rights,” he said.
Former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on May 26 passed a remark against the youngest wife of the Prophet of Islam during a television debate that triggered anger and protests across the Muslim world. Several Muslim majority nations officially expressed their resentment to the remarks and asked India to apologise. There were statements from the governments of at least 16 Muslim countries and also organisations including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
In response, the BJP issued a statement claiming that it respects all religions and suspended Sharma, and expelled Jindal from the party.
Over the last couple of decades, relations between the US and India have deepened as the former sees the world’s largest democracy as a counterweight to China. But in the last few years, there are instances where India faced criticism from the US government over dwindling minority rights.
Earlier this month, during the release of the religious freedom report, a senior US official said some government officers in India were ignoring or even supporting rising attacks on people and places of worship in the country. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken while commenting on minorities under threat around the world specifically, named India.
He said, “For example, in India, the world’s largest democracy and home to a great diversity of faiths, we have seen rising attacks on people and places of worship.”
India’s Foreign Ministry rebutted the allegations saying the US officials were “ill-informed” and “biased”.
The protests by Muslims in India were met with brutal crackdown in which two teenagers were killed in Jharkhand while hundreds were arrested and the houses of those allegedly involved in riots have been demolished in Uttar Pradesh.
- Suspended BJP spokespersons Naveen Jindal and Nupur Sharma
