Days after Islamic nations that include Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran sent official notes raising objection over the controversial remarks made by two former BJP spokespersons on Prophet Mohammed, the United States Thursday condemned the remarks. While speaking to reporters, State Department spokesman Ned Price said, "We condemn the offensive comments made by two BJP officials and we were glad to see that the party publicly condemns those comments," reported news agency AFP
"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," Ned Price added.
"The Indian people and the American people, we believe in the same values: human dignity, human respect, equality of opportunity, and the freedom of religion or belief. These are fundamental tenets, these are fundamental values within any democracy, and we speak up for them around the world," he said further, as reported by AFP.
Suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma and the party's former Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal had made a controversial statement on Prophet Mohammed on May 26 during a TV debate and on social media, respectively.
The comments by both the leaders set of huge protests in India. The remarks also led to diplomatic protests in wealthy Arab countries that normally share close relations.
The BJP, however, took swift action and suspended both the leaders even before objections were raised internationally. India has repeatedly insisted that the comments were by "fringe elements" and that it respects all the religions.
The United States since the last two decades has been trying to build strong relations with India, believing the world's two largest democracies have common interests, particularly with China emerging as a superpower.