‘Unwarranted, narrow minded’: MEA hits back at Islamic Cooperation’s backlash on Nupur Sharma row

As former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma remains embroiled in a row for her remarks on a news debate, the Ministry of External Affairs has officially condemned the comments made by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the matter.

Calling the remarks made by the organization “unwarranted” and “narrow-minded”, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi issued an official statement on the issue, rejecting the remarks made by the OIC in the incident.

Posting the official statement on Twitter, Bagchi wrote, “We have seen the statement on India by the General Secretariat of OIC. Government of India categorically rejected the OIC Secretariat’s unwarranted and narrow-minded comments.”

Our response to media queries regarding recent statement by General Secretariat of the OIC:https://t.co/961dqr76qf pic.twitter.com/qrbKgtoWnC

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) June 6, 2022

The MEA further wrote, “The GOI accords the highest respect to all religions. The offensive tweets and comments denigrating a religious personality were made by certain individuals. They do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the government of India. Strong action has already been taken against these individuals by relevant bodies.”

“It is regrettable that 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. We would urge the OIC Secretariat to stop pursuing its communal approach and show due respect to all faiths and religions,” Bagchi said.

The controversy regarding Nupur Sharma erupted when the former BJP spokesperson made certain remarks about Prophet Muhammad, which led to communal clashes in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Her comments also sparked a massive political row, with Muslim leaders and citizens hitting out at Sharma.

On Sunday, BJP issued an order that they have distanced themselves from the comments made by Sharma and suspended the spokesperson from the primary membership of the party, a move which was welcomed by Gulf countries.

Countries such as Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have demanded a public apology in this regard, on which BJP has issued no statement yet.

Without naming anyone, the BJP had said it believes in respecting all religions. General Secretary Arun Singh said the party was against any ideology that demeans other religions. "The Bharatiya Janata Party respects all religions. The BJP strongly denounces insults of any religious personalities of any religion," he wrote in a statement. 

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