New Delhi, June 6: A day after India responded to Qatar’s public admonition by distancing itself from “fringe elements” who made alleged insulting comments on Prophet Mohammad, the Ministry of External Affairs went all guns blazing against the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Pakistan for making “unwarranted and narrow-minded” comments on the issue – even as it remained silent on condemnation from Iran and other Gulf countries.
In response to the OIC and Pakistan statements, the MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated that India “accords the highest respect to all religions”.
But in the rest of the two responses, India lambasted the OIC and Pakistan for latching onto an issue which had been previously raised by other nations.
Terming OIC’s statement as “unwarranted and narrow-minded”, Bagchi stated, “The offensive tweets and comments denigrating a religious personality were made by certain individuals.”
“They do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. Strong action has already been taken against these individuals by relevant bodies,” he added.
The BJP had announced the suspension of national party spokesperson Nupur J. Sharma and Delhi state media chief Naveen Kumar Jindal from the party on Sunday.
Further, India said that it was regrettable that the OIC secretariat “has yet again chosen to make motivated, misleading and mischievous comments”. “This only exposes its divisive agenda being pursued at the behest of vested interests,” he noted.
Bagchi further added that the OIC secretariat should “stop pursuing its communal approach and show due respect to all faiths and religions.”
From the Pakistani prime minister to the Pakistan army, a series of declarations from Islamabad condemned the BJP leaders’ words. In contrast to the statements from the Gulf, which broadly welcomed their suspension, Pakistan termed it as “perfunctory”.
Noting that the Indian government gives “highest respect to all religions”, Bagchi said it was “quite unlike Pakistan where fanatics are eulogized and monuments built in their honour”.
“The absurdity of a serial violator of minority rights commenting on the treatment of minorities in another nation is not lost on anyone. The world has been witness to the systemic persecution of minorities including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Ahmadiyyas by Pakistan,” he stated.
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”.
In recent years, OIC and Pakistan have issued the most frequent statements on the state of minority rights in India, which have been responded to with incremental rhetoric from New Delhi.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the MEA has responded with the strongest words, dismissing statements from OIC and Pakistan. At the same time, it has remained silent on the summoning of Indian ambassadors by Oman, Kuwait, and Iran and statements issued by GCC, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the Taliban in Afghanistan on the same topic.
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