Ruling party should hang head in shame: Oppn tears into Centre after SC flays Nupur Sharma

JULY 1, 2022

After the Supreme Court on Friday tore into suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her remarks on Prophet Muhammad, top Opposition leaders launched a fusillade of attacks at the Modi government. The Congress led the charge, saying “the party in power should hang its head in shame”.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, while replying to a question in his Lok Sabha constituency Wayanad, said, “The atmosphere in the country has been created by the ruling dispensation. It is not the person [Nupur Sharma] who has made the comment, it is the Prime Minister, Home Minister, BJP and RSS that have created this environment of anger, hatred. Frankly this environment in the country is an anti-national act. This is against the interest of India, it is against the interest of people, and it is going to lead to tragedy.”

The Gandhi scion, who is on a three-day tour of Wayanad, added, “As the Congress party, we build bridges between people, we built bridges between communities, we bring people together. So what we are seeing in the country is being done by the RSS and BJP. This is completely against our philosophy. We don’t believe in solving problem with hatred and anger.”

Noting that the Supreme Court made crucial and far-reaching observations in the case of Nupur Sharma, Congress general secretary in-charge communication Jairam Ramesh, said, “The court has very rightly called out the BJP Spokesperson for being ‘single-handedly responsible for igniting emotions across the country’. These remarks by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, which resonate with the entire country, should make the party in power hang its head in shame.”

Jairam Ramesh went on to say that the top court showed the mirror to the Centre and called out the “base ugliness of its actions”.

“It is no secret that the BJP seeks to profit from inflaming communal passions. Today, the Supreme Court has strengthened the resolve in every single one of us who are fighting these destructively divisive ideologies,” he added.

WHAT OTHERS SAID

In a series of tweets, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the ruling BJP must also apologise and demanded action against Nupur Sharma in accordance with the law.

“It is an indictment of the divisiveness BJP promotes and the hate its leaders and trolls consistently fan, putting our country at great risk. It is the BJP that should also apologise and pledge to not indulge in further acts which are anti-Indian, unpatriotic and divisive. We hope that beyond words, if according to Supreme Court, Ms Sharma is responsible for starting the hate spiral and most recent reprehensible cycle of violence, she will be proceeded upon as per law,” he said.

Yechury pointed out that not just Sharma, other BJP spokespersons must also be taken to task for allegedly making divisive and provocative statements on TV and elsewhere. “BJP has suspended her [Nupur Sharma] only as of now, under international pressure. But if the law does not act against her and others like her promoted by the party, who sow discord, separatism and damage India, the wrong message would be go out. We would find many more like her mushrooming from the RSS/BJP’s hate factory and on vitriolic TV debates.”

Echoing the sentiment, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted in Hindi, “Not only the Mukh [referring to spokesperson], but the sharir [referring to her organisation] should also apologise and be punished for disturbing the unrest and harmony in the country.”

Tweeting the Supreme Court’s observation that “Nupur Sharma single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country”, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “Beg to differ. It is the ecosystem created by the BJP’s blessings, not just her individually. BJP has made her a scapegoat and this observation lets the party off the hook. She was speaking exactly what was expected from her as a spokesperson.”