Prophet remarks row: Unease within BJP after action against Nupur Sharma, Naveen Jindal

A certain amount of disquiet has set in among leaders within the Bharatiya Janata Party after the party took action against spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. Even though senior leaders have not publicly come out in support of them, the mood online was palpable. In fact, several leaders DH spoke to said it was unfair to the two.

“It was definitely unfair on them, and friends and colleagues are distressed about it,” a spokesperson told DH on condition of anonymity. “It just feels like you're on your own.”

An MP from the lower house, who did not want to be named, said that spokespersons are usually briefed on their stand. “They are given an orientation when they are appointed, then they are groomed, and every day when they go on shows, they are assigned the shows across TV channels, and briefed what the party’s position is,” the MP said.

After the fracas, the party also issued directives to the spokespersons asking them to toe the line. Spokespersons have also been strictly told to not insult any religion in any manner, and to be aware of the topic of debate as well as the party’s line on it.

Also read: The rise and fall of Nupur Sharma

Online, the spokespersons, especially Nupur Sharma, found the support of right-wing hardliners, and trends like #shamelessBJP and #ISupportNupurSharma have been doing the rounds on Twitter since the incident.

Some local BJP leaders expressed their disappointment on Facebook. In addition to that, several supporters of the right wing found the BJP’s stand a weakened one.

Sharma also found support from Kapil Mishra, one of the leaders in the BJP accused of inciting violence in two riots but had no disciplinary action against him. In a Hindi tweet, Mishra said that within Hindus, unlike other religions, a person mocking the religion is rewarded not punished.

Meanwhile Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at the saffron party, saying the "fringe" is the BJP's core. In a tweet, he highlighted some past statements of top BJP leaders holding senior positions in the government. This includes a news report of home minister Amit Shah calling migrants "termites", and another of I&B minister Anurag Thakur saying, "desh ke gaddaro ko, goli maro salo ko" (‘shoot the traitors of the country’).