Upping the ante: People staging a protest demanding the arrest of Nupur Sharma in Mumbai.EMMANUAL YOGINIEMMANUAL YOGINI
Kallol Bhattacherjee NEW DELHI
India on Monday hit out at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) over its statement condemning the derogatory comments made by two BJP leaders on Prophet Muhammed and Islam, even as more nations, including India’s crucial Gulf partner, the UAE, security partners Oman and Jordan, Pakistan and the Maldives, came out strongly against the remarks.
Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said the OIC’s comments were “misleading and mischievous”.
Criticising the comments by Nupur Sharma and Navin Kumar Jindal, who were suspended by the BJP amid international opprobrium, the UAE urged India to foster “mutual coexistence”.
In the strongly worded response to the OIC, Mr. Bagchi said the bloc should stop its “communal approach”. “It is regrettable that the OIC Secretariat has yet again chosen to make motivated, misleading and mischievous comments. This only exposes its divisive agenda being pursued at the behest of vested interests,” he said.
Earlier, the OIC “strongly condemned” the derogatory remarks and connected them with other internal developments in India. “These abuses come in the context of the escalation of hatred and abuse of Islam in India and in the context of the systematic practices against Muslims and restrictions on them,” it said.
The official spokesperson’s strongest response was reserved for the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif, who had urged the world to “severely reprimand India” and take note of the offensive comments. “Our love for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is supreme. All Muslims can sacrifice their life for the Love & Respect of their Holy Prophet (PBUH),” Mr. Sharif said on Sunday.
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