Kolkata:
Thousands of Muslims thronged at the road in Kolkata’s Park Circus on Friday and staged a protest against expelled BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. The crowd emerged in opposition of Nupur Sharma for making inflammatory comments on the messenger on Islam.
Meanwhile, a day earlier, locals in Howrah on Thursday also held a protest. The protests took place near Ankurhati on NH 116, disrupting traffic.
During the demonstration, the protestors held flags of black color to express their dissent against the objectionable comments on Prophet Mohammad during a debate on the Gyanvapi issue on an English news channel.
After which, the BJP announced the suspension of the two BJP leaders. The BJP clarified that it respects all all religions. “The BJP strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities of any religion,” said BJP in its statement.
Sharma’s comments over Prophet Mohammad attracted global criticism especially from the Gulf countries. The 57-member OIC had raised concerns against the “systematic harassment of minorities in India”.
However, India ‘categorically rejected’ the claims and said, the Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We have seen the statement on India from the General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Government of India categorically rejects OIC Secretariat’s unwarranted and narrow-minded comments.”
It had also conveyed to Qatar and Kuwait that it had taken strong action against those who made controversial remarks on Twitter against the minorities.
Amidst the raging controversy, the Delhi Police had also taken action against nearly 11 people for allegedly controversial statements. All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Hindu leader Swami Yati Narasimhananda also appeared in the list.
Reacting to which, Owaisi hit back at the the Delhi Police and said, “I’ve received an excerpt of the FIR. This is the first FIR I’ve seen that’s not specifying what the crime is. Imagine an FIR about a murder where cops don’t mention the weapon or that the victim bled to death. I don’t know which specific remarks of mine have attracted the FIR.”
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