India’s ruling party officials asked to display restraint: Report

NEW DELHI

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reportedly asked its top officials to be "extremely cautious" when speaking about religion on public platforms.

The ruling party instructed its officials after an international outcry over remarks against Prophet Mohammed by two of its officials.

A Muslim BJP leader, requesting anonymity, told Anadolu Agency: "No specific instructions have been issued, but we were asked to present our views on developmental issues rather than commenting on religion."

Another party spokesman refused to speak anything on this.

Meanwhile, a media report has also said that the party has identified 38 officials who usually had the habit of making controversial statements. They have been asked to take party permission before commenting on religious issues, said the report in local Hindi newspaper Dainik Bhaskar.

On Sunday, the party had suspended spokeswoman Nupur Sharma in response to insulting remarks she made against Prophet Muhammad.

Sharma had made insulting remarks against the Prophet in a TV debate, triggering a wave of condemnation at home and from the Islamic world.

Another BJP spokesman Naveen Kumar Jindal was expelled from the party over comments he made about Islam on social media.

In a statement issued before they were sacked, the party had said, "The BJP strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities of any religion. The Bharatiya Janata Party is also against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion."

More than a dozen countries -- as well as international organizations -- condemned the controversial remarks.

Meanwhile, police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur arrested BJP youth wing leader Harshit Srivastava for a derogatory remark he made about Prophet Muhammad amid violence in the city Friday.

Srivastava has been booked for promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, and deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.

“Anyone trying to disturb peace and harmony would be dealt with sternly,” Joint Commissioner Anand Prakash Tiwari said in a statement on Twitter.​​​​​​​