After global embarrassment, BJP suspends Nupur Sharma over her remarks against Prophet

The BJP on Sunday suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad during a recent TV debate. The party has also suspended Delhi BJP's media in-charge Naveen Kumar Jindal.

Hashtags calling for the boycott of Indian products are trending on Twitter in Arab countries after Nupur Sharma's inflammatory remarks.

The Grand Mufti of Oman along with Twitter handles with a large following have called for the boycott.

The boycott tweets also included a scathing attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Grand Mufti of Oman Sheikh Al-Khalili tweeted:

Distancing itself from the controversy, the BJP on Sunday released a statement on Sunday saying it respects all religions and strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities.

In a statement released on Sunday, June 5, by BJP’s party general secretary Arun Singh, the party asserted that it “is strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion”, adding that it “respects all religions and strongly denounces insult of any religious personality”.

The BJP statement, however, made no direct mention of any incident or comment. It also did not provide any context for the statement, either by referring to Sharma’s comments or about the religion in question.

On Friday, violence broke out in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh after a Muslim organisation gave a call to shut shops in Parade Market over the remarks made by Nupur Sharma.

The controversial remarks were made by Nupur Sharma during a TV debate on the alleged Shivling found inside Varanasi’s Gyanvapi Masjid. The Muslim side has maintained that the said structure is a fountain.

Cases have been registered against Nupur Sharma for hurting religious sentiments in Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai.