U.S. says it ‘condemns remarks on Prophet made by BJP officials

The United States on Thursday condemned remarks by Indian ruling party (BJP) officials about the Prophet Mohammed that have sparked an uproar in Muslim countries.

“We condemn the offensive comments made by two BJP officials and we were glad to see that the party publicly condemns those comments,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

“We regularly engage with the Indian government at senior levels on human rights concerns including freedom of religion or belief and we encourage India to promote respect for human rights,” he said.

Nupur Sharma, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, on May 26 made televised remarks about Prophet Muhammad that have triggered demonstrations across the Islamic world. In damage-control mode, the BJP suspended Ms Sharma as well as Naveen Kumar Jindal, another figure in the party who was accused of inflammatory tweets about the Prophet Mohammed.

The United States, however, has several times carefully voiced concern about human rights in India as Mr. Modi faces accusations of pursuing policies that target the Muslim minority.