— Indian Police books BJP leaders as international pressure mounts on Delhi
LUCKNOW/SRINAGAR: Police confronted stone-pelting crowds in at least two Indian cities on Friday as crowds protested in many areas of the country over derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet (PBUH) made by two former members of the ruling party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has faced a backlash from Muslims at home and abroad, including from a number of Gulf countries, after two officials from his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made Islamophobic remarks.
Indian Police books BJP leadersÂ
An official of India’s ruling party has been named by police in a case for inciting people after her insulting remarks against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) spurred a string of condemnations from the oil-rich Gulf states and other Muslim-majority nations.
Nurpur Sharma, spokeswoman for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been named in one of two cases registered for “inciting people on the basis of various divisive lines,” the Delhi police said on Thursday.
Indian journalist and author Saba Naqvi was also booked in the case after an alleged anti-Hindu tweet.
On Sunday, BJP suspended the membership of Sharma, and another worker Naveen Kumar Jindal was expelled from the party over comments he made about Islam on social media.
Sharma had made insulting remarks against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a television debate, triggering a wave of condemnations within India and from the Islamic world.
More than a dozen countries — as well as international organisations — condemned the controversial remarks.
Calls have grown for a boycott of Indian products in Gulf countries, while the BJP has suspended Sharma and asked its spokespeople to speak more responsibly in public.
The latest development comes as Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is on a three-day visit to New Delhi. Abdollahian met Ajit Kumar Doval, India’s national security adviser on Wednesday.
Jamia Millia Islamia university students shout slogans against the suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokeswoman Nupur Sharma and expelled BJP leader Naveen Jindal at Jamia Millia Islamia university in New Delhi, India, June 10, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
One of them, spokeswoman Nupur Sharma, has been suspended and the other official has been expelled by the party.
That has not calmed anger in the latest instance of what some in the minority Muslim community see as increased pressure under the rule of the Hindu nationalist BJP on issues ranging from freedom of worship to the wearing of hijab head scarves.
Muslims participate in a protest demanding the arrest of BJP member Nupur Sharma, in Kolkata, India, June 10, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
In the Uttar Pradesh city of Prayagraj, riot police with shields charged and fired tear gas at crowds on Friday in a street strewn with broken bricks and stones, video footage from Reuters partner ANI showed.
“Additional police forces have been deployed and strict action will be taken against those who are found responsible for this,” said Prashant Kumar, a senior Uttar Pradesh police official.
In Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi, protesters lobbed stones at police and injured some officers, senior police official Anis Gupta told Reuters by phone, adding the situation was now under control.
Protests in other cities and town remained peaceful.
Protestors throw stones towards police during a protest demanding the arrest of BJP member Nupur Sharma in Prayagraj, India, June 10, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
In the Muslim-majority region of IIOJK, small groups gathered in dozens of locations, some of them raising slogans against the fired BJP officials.
Authorities in the occupied territory cut off mobile internet connections to forestall any violence, a police official said.
In Ahmedabad, the main city in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, protesters including children marched holding posters of the two BJP officials and calling for police to arrest Sharma.
“So far, no strict action has been taken against Nupur Sharma,” said protester Mohammad Jabir. “She should be arrested as soon as possible.”
Sharma was not available for comment. She said in a statement posted on Twitter last week that she did not intend to hurt anyone’s religious feelings.
Police in New Delhi said on Thursday said they have filed a complaint against Sharma and others for “inciting people on divisive lines” on social media.
The BJP has instructed officials to be “extremely cautious” when talking about religion on public platforms and has said it does not promote insults against any sect or religion.
