‘We strongly encourage respect and tolerance for all religions’: UN spokesperson amid row over BJP leaders’ Prophet remarks

The spokesperson was responding to a query by a Pakistani journalist on the condemnation by a number of Muslim nations over remarks by BJP’s former nationwide spokesperson Nupur Sharma and its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal in opposition to the Prophet and the Secretary General’s response to it.

“I’ve seen stories. I haven’t seen the remarks themselves, but I mean, regardless, I can tell you that we strongly encourage respect and tolerance for all religions,” Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, stated on Monday on the every day press briefing.

The BJP on Sunday suspended Sharma and expelled Jindal because the row over their remarks in opposition to the Prophet escalated with protests from many Muslim international locations.

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Amid demonstrations by Muslim teams and the sharp response from international locations like Kuwait, Qatar and Iran, the BJP had issued an announcement asserting that it respects all religions and strongly denounces insults of any spiritual persona.

Seeking to defuse a diplomatic row, spokespersons of the Indian Embassy in Qatar and Kuwait stated on Sunday that the Ambassadors have “conveyed that the tweets do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. These are the views of fringe elements.”

Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Afghanistan and the Maldives on Monday joined a number of Muslim nations to sentence the controversial remarks of BJP leaders in opposition to Prophet Mohammed, stressing the significance of respecting all spiritual beliefs.