After Qatar, Kuwait summons Indian envoy over BJP leaders’ controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad

New Delhi: After Qatar, Kuwait on Sunday (June 5) summoned the Indian Ambassador over controversial remarks of a BJP leader against Prophet Mohammad. As per PTI, the Kuwait Foreign Ministry said that the Indian envoy to Kuwait was summoned and handed over an official protest note by the Assistant Secretary of State for Asia Affairs expressing the country’s "categorical rejection and condemnation" of the remarks made by a BJP official against the Prophet. The Kuwait ministry also welcomed the BJP’s statement announcing the suspension of its leaders over their controversial remarks. 

Earlier, Qatar summoned the Indian Ambassador and conveyed that the Gulf country is expecting a “public apology” and immediate denouncement of these remarks from the Indian government. 

To quell the tensions, a spokesperson of the Indian Embassy in Qatar said that the "Ambassador conveyed that the tweets do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. These are the views of fringe elements."

"Strong action has already been taken against those who made the derogatory remarks,” the spokesperson of the Indian Embassy said in Doha. 

BJP leaders suspended over objectionable remarks on Prophet Mohammed

Amid huge outcry from the Gulf countries, BJP on Sunday suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal over their controversial remarks against the Prophet. 

Following her suspension, Nupur Sharma unconditionally withdrew her controversial statement made in a TV debate a few days back. She also claimed that her comments were a reaction to "continuous insult and disrespect towards our Mahadev". Taking to Twitter, Sharma wrote, "I have been attending TV debates for the past many days where our Mahadev was being insulted and disrespected continuously. It was mockingly being said that it is not Shivling but a fountain. The Shivling was also being ridiculed by comparing it to roadside signs and poles in Delhi." She was supposedly referring to the Hindu group's claim of Shivling at the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. 

Naveen Kumar Jindal was expelled for his controversial tweet on the Prophet on June 1. Delhi unit president Adesh Gupta in his letter to Jindal said his opinion was contradictory to the BJP’s original ideology. "You have worked against the party's ideology and policies," the letter by Gupta read. Jindal said he did not aim to hurt the religious sentiments of any community and he "respects the faith of all religions".  

BJP’s move to defuse tension

Before the suspension of its leaders, the BJP also issued a statement today saying it respects all religions and strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities. 

BJP general secretary Arun Singh said in a statement that the party is strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion. “The BJP does not promote such people or philosophy,” he said. However, no direct mention of any incident or comment was made in the statement. 

The statement came amid protests by Muslim groups over the remarks and outrage on Twitter in the Arab world calling for a boycott of Indian products.

(With agency inputs)