Saturday
20th Apr 2024
Dhivehi Edition
Rally held in capital Male'. Photo: TMJ
Hundreds of Maldivians took to the streets on Saturday to protest the slanderous remarks against Prophet Mohamed made by senior figures at India’s ruling Baharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The youth-led rally was carried out on motorcycles on Saturday evening, with many displaying posters condemning the statements.
Two senior figures at BJP, Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, had defamed the Prophet on tv and social media, respectively. On May 26, Sharma made comments on a televised debate, defaming the Prophet and the Quran.
BJP had suspended the duo on June 5th, issuing a statement later on without naming either of them. The statement said that BJP was ‘strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion’.
The Party’s action and statement came after Middle Eastern nations, such as Qatar, launched a mass boycott of Indian products. Muslims in India and globally, had condemned the two and rising Islamophobia in India.
The Government of Maldives’ statement came full 10 days after Nupur’s incendiary comments. The three-sentence statement also did not mention Nupur and Jindal, and is best described as ‘tepid’. Sources had reported that the statement was written earlier in the day, but released after much revisions and clearance from the Indian High Commission in the country.
The delay in condemnation had added to the criticism faced by the Solih administration.