Amid strong protests from Islamic countries on the matter of BJP leaders Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal’s remarks on Prophet Mohammad, the Dinner organized by the Deputy Emir of Qatar in honor of Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu has been cancelled.
India’s Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu arrived on an official visit when a controversy erupted over an alleged ‘hurtful’ remarks against the Prophet. However, according to reports, the dinner program with Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has been cancelled due to health reasons. There were reports that the Deputy Amir had come under the exposure of Corona and this was informed to India before Vice President Naidu reached Doha.
The alleged ‘derogatory’ remarks against the Prophet have been condemned by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Iran. However, Saudi has welcomed the BJP’s action. The Bharatiya Janata Party has taken strict steps against both its leaders and both the leaders have also withdrawn their statements.
According to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs, Saudi Arabia called BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s remarks “derogatory” and called for “respect for beliefs and religions”.
Qatar, Kuwait and Iran had summoned the Indian envoy on Sunday in this matter before Saudi Arabia. The Indian envoy in Doha was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs and handed over an official protest letter stating that “Qatar expects a public apology from the Indian government and an immediate condemnation of these comments”.
This was followed by a statement from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, which said that the comments were made by “Fringe Elements” and did not represent the government’s view. Along with this, the Ministry of External Affairs also strongly criticized the statement of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).