After being suspended by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged after her derogatory remark against Prophet Muhammad, the party’s ex-spokesperson Nupur Sharma issued an apology on social media. “If my words have caused discomfort or hurt anyone’s religious feelings whatsoever, I unconditionally withdraw my statement,” she said in a post on Twitter.
In her apology, Nupur Sharma said that she made her offensive statements in response to a continuous insult and disrespect towards Mahadev.
“I have been attending TV debates for the past many days where our Mahadev (God) 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,” said Nupur Sharma.
Nupur Sharma was referring to a controversy about a structure found in Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque, which Hindu groups claimed is a ‘Shivling’.
During a prime-time news show on this topic conducted by Times Now Group Editor Navika Kumar, the BJP leader lost her cool and uttered insulting statements addressed to the Prophet.
There was instant condemnation against her but the national party took no steps to correct their member’s mistake. However, the news soon spread to the Arab countries who sharply criticized the Narendra Modi government for not taking any action.
There were also reports of many superstores in the Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain removing Indian products from their shelves. The BJP, after the backlash, swung into action by issuing a press release on Sunday stating that it “strongly denounces insults of any religious personalities of any religion”.
Naveen Jindal, another BJP spokesperson, was expelled from the party at the same time “for expressing thoughts of communal disharmony on social media.”
“I am a dedicated worker of the party. The decision of the party is of the utmost importance to me,” he said.
