Iran Summons Indian Envoy Over Remarks About Prophet Muhammad

The director general of the South Asia Department at the Foreign Ministry conveyed the strong protest of the Iranian government over the comments, which the Indian envoy described as not reflecting the position of the Indian government. 

According to the Foreign Ministry website, the ambassador expressed regret over the comments made by two officials of the ruling party, clarifying that New Delhi reveres all religions. 

“The BJP strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities of any religion. The Bharatiya Janata Party is also against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion,” the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said in a statement issued on Sunday.

In recent remarks on a TV news debate, the BJP's spokesperson Nupur Sharma made inflammatory comments about the Prophet of Islam, which led to widespread condemnation in the country and also triggered protests in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur on Friday. The party suspended the spokesperson and also expelled Naveen Kumar Jindal, who heads its Delhi media, from the party. Sharma said that certain things from Islamic religious books could be mocked by people.

Qatar, Kuwait and Pakistan have also denounced the remarks made by the two BJP leaders with Kuwait and Qatar summoning the Indian envoys and Pakistani premier taking to Twitter to condemn the remarks.