Opposition parties have demanded that the BJP should immediately arrest those who have defamed India at the international level instead of enacting a “drama of action”.
Several leaders of Congress and Left parties, including Rahul Gandhi and P Chidambaram, spoke on the issue by hitting out at the ruling party for its functionaries' remarks against Prophet Mohammad.
Asking why those responsible for putting out offensive comments that led to global outrage had not been arrested yet, the Congress said it was unacceptable for the nation to apologise for such mistakes. The ruling party at the Centre has 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.
"Divided internally, India becomes weak externally. BJP's shameful bigotry has not only isolated us, but also damaged India's standing globally," Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter.
The Opposition party charged the BJP's "anti-social elements" with thrusting the nation into the fire of hatred. "The BJP might show itself making amends by suspending its spokespersons from the party but who are they fooling? For something as serious as defaming the country on a global platform, why are they not making any arrests?" the Congress tweeted on the party handle, using the hashtag "#BJP_Defames_India". "Such anti-social elements of the BJP should be arrested immediately," the Congress demanded.
The opposition party also said the country will not apologise for the mistakes of the BJP, but the ruling party president should do so. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the BJP commits a mistake and the country has to face the repercussions.
"The prime minister is reminded by Qatar and Kuwait about his 'Raj Dharma'. Nothing can be more shameful than this," he said. Khera said India should not apologise as it is not the country's mistake but that of the BJP.
Former Home Minister P Chidambaram said it was not domestic criticism but an international backlash that had pushed the BJP to take action against its functionaries for their offensive remarks against the Prophet. "Mrs Nupur Sharma and Mr Naveen Kumar were not the original creators of the Islamophobia. Remember, they were trying to more loyal than the king," the former Union minister tweeted.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala added that the BJP leadership is pushing the country into the dark age of communal polarisation to serve its narrow political interests and asked. “
He referred to Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu's visit to Qatar and asked why a foreign country cancelled the banquet in his honour. “What is the reason that advisories are being issued by many countries to our ambassadors who are calling BJP spokespersons ‘fringe elements',” he added.
The Left parties charged that the BJP was "forced to act" and suspend its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammed due to pressure from other countries.
CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury questioned how BJP leaders speaking on behalf of the party can be called "fringe elements." "BJP leaders discharging official party responsibilities cannot be 'fringe elements'.
"Nupur Sharma publicly thanked party leaders Home Minister Amit Shah, PMO and others for support. Now under pressure from other countries they are forced to act and suspend her. These are patrons of hate speech. Condemn Isolate Defeat them Save India," said CPIM in a tweet.
"The so-called ‘fringe elements' were the official spokespersons of the ruling party in India. What they said is not different from the RSS narrative of demonising minorities, which is going on since 1925," CPI General Secretary D Raja said in a tweet.