Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was responsible for the global backlash following the controversial statements made by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Prophet Muhammed. Mr. Modi should break his silence on the matter, he said.
“The party may have suspended her, but who is responsible for the infamy that the statement has brought for India? The Prime Minister gives a statement on almost everything, why is he silent on this matter?” said Mr. Singh, talking to the media after a press conference at the party’s state headquarters at Indira Bhawan here.
He also questioned the “fringe elements” descriptor being used for Ms. Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal, a fellow spokesperson who was expelled after the outcry. “We are talking about a national spokesperson who is expressing the party’s ideology. How can she [Ms. Sharma] be described as a fringe element and if indeed she is one, the party president [J.P. Nadda] has to own up for nominating her as spokesperson and apologise for the same,” Mr. Singh said.
