BJP’s nationale talskvinde, Nupur Sharma, blev søndag afsat, efter at venstrefløjen i Indien og flere islamiske lande reagerede kraftigt på hendes udtalelser om profeten Muhammed.

The BJP on Sunday suspended Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal as the row over their remarks against the Prophet escalated with protests from some Muslim countries.

With sharp reaction coming from countries like Kuwait, Qatar and Iran, the BJP had issued a statement asserting that it respects all religions and strongly denounces insult of any religious personality.

Sharma lå fladt:

Under attack, Sharma had said, “If my words have caused discomfort or hurt religious feelings of anyone whatsoever, I hereby unconditionally withdraw my statement. It was never my intention to hurt anyone’s religious feelings.”

Det bryggede op til en ny karikaturkamp med stærke følelser og krav om boykot af indiske varer. Sidstnævnte kan have været dråben for BJP.

Stormuftien i Oman var forarget.

The Grand Mufti also called for a boycott of Indian products while several Twitter users urged the Government to take over all Indian investments and lay off its citizens.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the Shiva temple complex when he had last visited Oman in 2018. But the India-Oman connection runs deeper. At a time when the Gulf nations were tilted towards Pakistan on the military side, Oman regularly held joint exercises with the Indian Navy which have now blossomed to involve all the three services.

I betragtning af Indiens voksende indflydelse og rolle som stormagt, var dette en brand, som Modi måtte slukke.

The strong reaction from the Grand Mufti of Oman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalili, followed by a Twitter storm in West Asia may have been crucial in the BJP suspending its spokesperson Nupur Sharma for insulting Prophet Mohammad and his wife Ayesha on a television channel.