Narrow-minded comments: MEA hits back at 'serial critics' Pakistan, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, June 6

For the second day running, India sought to defuse the controversy in West Asian countries over adverse comments made by the ruling party spokesperson on Prophet Mohammed.

Editorial: National embarrassment: Arab outrage wake-up call to atone for extremism, hatred

---

Payback for rejecting US report, tweets Jairam Ramesh

Is the summoning of Indian envoys by Qatar, Kuwait and Oman a payback for the curt Indian dismissal of a US govt report on constricting religious freedom? Ex-Union Minister Jairam Ramesh’s tweet sets off speculation over West Asian outrage.

India defamed: Rahul Gandhi

Instead of doing a drama of action against anti-social elements in the party who have defamed India at the international level, it should immediately arrest them. Rahul Gandhi, Congress

Gulf Cooperation Council condemns remarks

The Gulf Cooperation Council secy-general condemned the statements made by the BJP spokesperson. The GCC includes Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar & Saudi Arabia.

Nupur Sharma: Shot into limelight as ABVP leader

• Catapulted to centre stage in 2015 after she was chosen to take on AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Assembly polls.
• First shot into limelight as ABVP student leader when elected president of the Delhi University Students’ Union in 2008.
• Nupur Sharma, 37, did her graduation from Hindu College, studied law at the Faculty of Law, Delhi University, and then she went to the London School of Economics and pursued law.

At the same time, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly pushed back at some of the observations by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Pakistan which summoned the Indian Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad on Monday. The MEA had strong words for “serial offenders” OIC and Pakistan, both of whom frequently comment adversely on events in India. Terming Islamabad as a “serial violator of minority rights”, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said while India accorded the highest respect to all religions, in Pakistan “fanatics are eulogised and monuments built in their honour”.

Bagchi called on Pakistan to focus on the safety, security and well-being of its minority communities instead of engaging in “alarmist propaganda and attempting to foment communal disharmony in India”.

On the OIC statement, besides rejecting the “unwarranted and narrow-minded comments”, Bagchi wanted it to stop “pursuing its communal approach and show due respect to all faiths and religions”.

In Maldives, an attempt by the opposition to make political capital out of the controversy fell flat after its resolution failed to get traction in the Majlis. The Progressive Party of Maldives, whose activists were arrested two days back for protesting against “Indian military presence” in the country, had unsuccessfully pushed for a resolution that sought to criticise India for the comments.

Summoned by Qatar, Kuwait and Iran, Indian envoys in their readouts followed a similar pattern – they termed it the work of a fringe which did not reflect the views of the Indian Government and stated that action had been taken against the offenders who held no government posts. The three countries seemed to have accepted the explanation and may be inclined to let the matter rest. All the three readouts mentioned prominently the Indian envoys explanation, with Qatar, in particular, welcoming the action taken by the BJP to suspend the office-bearer concerned. Oman also summoned the Indian envoy and served him a demarche on comments.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Afghanistan too condemned the controversial remarks on Monday, stressing the importance of respecting all religious beliefs. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia also welcomed the decision of the BJP to suspend its spokeswoman.

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Afghanistan #nupur sharma #Pakistan