"Denounce Insult Of Religious Personalities": BJP Suspends Spokespersons
NDTV
Nupur Sharma's comment during a TV debate last week, purportedly insulting the Prophet, had triggered a huge outcry and protests from Muslim groups.
The BJP on Sunday suspended party spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal over their comments on Prophet Muhammad, after saying it "strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities" amid a massive backlash and violence.
"During the thousands of years of the history of India, every religion has blossomed and flourished. The Bharatiya Janata Party respects all religions. The BJP strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities of any religion," it said in a statement earlier in the day.
"The Bharatiya Janata Party is also strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion. The BJP does not promote such people or philosophy," it said.
"India's Constitution gives the right to every citizen to practise any religion of his/her choice and to honour and respect every religion," the party said.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which includes the Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP, is en route to a thumping win in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election, thanks to its two smaller allies.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader said the results are not acceptable to his party and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition.
The Adani Group said that none of its 11 public companies are implicated or accused of any wrongdoing.
The MVA had only been given a (very) slim chance of upsetting the in-power BJP-led alliance's applecart in this election; only one of 11 exit polls studied by NDTV believed it can win.
The first phase saw voting in 43 constituencies, while the second phase saw 38 seats up for grabs. Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), leading the ruling INDIA alliance, faces a fierce challenge from the BJP-led NDA.
Assembly Election Results 2024: Maharashtra's 288 voted Wednesday in a single phase, and an average of 11 exit polls gives the ruling Mahayuti 155 seats.
Bypoll Assembly Election Results 2024 Live: Bypolls were held on 48 assembly seats in 14 states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal.
During the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured (in absentia) with the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Global Peace Award for Minority Upliftment.
The DMK MPs held a meeting today to discuss what they called the BJP-led Centre's betrayal of the state and its people
Meanwhile, Kamlochan Kashyap, DIG South Bastar said a joint operation has been planned after getting information about the movement of a group of Maoists in the area.
It happened around 11 am when a youth from Sevdha village came on a motorcycle to the Indian Oil petrol pump in Dulhapur village and asked for a refill worth Rs 100, Superintendent of Police Brijesh Kumar Srivastava said.