"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the spokeswoman of the Indian Bharatiya Janata Party, which insulted the Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings be upon him," Saudi's foreign minis...
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Riyadh: on Monday expressed its condemnation and denunciation of the controversial remarks of a leader against Prophet Mohammed.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its condemnation and denunciation of the statements made by the spokeswoman of the Indian Bharatiya Janata Party, which insulted the Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings be upon him," Saudi's foreign ministry tweeted.
The ministry also stressed its "permanent rejection of prejudice" against any Islamic symbols and reiterated the Kingdom's position calling for "respect for beliefs and religions". It also rejected anything that give rise to prejudice against "all religious figures and symbols."
The ministry also welcomed the measures taken by the BJP to suspend the spokeswoman and reaffirmed the "Kingdom's position calling for respect for beliefs and religions".
With this, Saudi Arabia has become the fourth nation to denounce the statement made by BJP national spokesperson against the Prophet after Qatar, Iran and Kuwait.
The three nations on Sunday summoned 's Ambassadors over the issue.
Seeking to defuse a diplomatic row, spokespersons of the Indian Embassy in Qatar and Kuwait said on Sunday that the Ambassadors "conveyed that the tweets do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. These are the views of fringe elements."
Sharma's comments, made in a TV debate nearly 10 days back, sparked a controversy. Following this, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suspended her.
After suspension, Sharma took to Twitter and withdrew her statement by saying that "it was never her intention to hurt anyone's religious feelings."
The party also expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal after his controversial remarks against the Prophet.
Amid protests by Muslim groups over the remarks, the BJP also issued a statement aimed at assuaging the concerns of minorities and distancing itself from these members. It asserted that it respects all religions and strongly denounces the insult of any religious personality.
