All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and MP Asaduddin Owaisi has said that he would not be surprised if suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma contests from Delhi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Former BJP national spokesperson Nupur Sharma was suspended from the party in June 2022 for her remarks on Prophet Mohammad during a debate on a news channel.
During ANI’s podcast, Owaisi raised questions on BJP’s action against Nupur and said that she will definitely come back and contest elections for BJP. The AIMIM MP said that the BJP would definitely use him. I will not be surprised if he is made the candidate from Delhi in the Lok Sabha elections.
Nupur’s comment was criticized in India and abroad
Let us tell you that during the news debate in 2022, the BJP had to face criticism in the country and abroad for Nupur Sharma’s comment. This had reportedly led to several violent incidents between the communities, including the stabbing of tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur and Umesh Kolhe, 54, in Maharashtra.
Investigators believe that Kolhe was killed in retaliation for his social media posts supporting Nupur. Kolhe had supported Sharma’s statements on the Prophet in May.
Kanhaiya Lal beheaded for supporting Nupur Sharma
On June 21, 2022, Kolhe was strangled to death by two motorcycle-borne men in Amravati, Maharashtra. In a separate incident, two men barged into her shop and beheaded a tailor for supporting Nupur Sharma’s remarks in Rajasthan’s Udaipur.
Owaisi said that incidents like beheading in Udaipur should be condemned. I am against slogans like ‘Sar tan se juda’. I openly condemn it. Such statements incite violence. I am against violence.
The AIMIM leader, however, questioned that in how many days does Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government react to Nupur Sharma’s statements.
Owaisi said that this was not the first time that Nupur Sharma had appeared on a television channel. He had earlier also made controversial remarks on a Hindi news channel. I am against the threats used against him, whatever he said is also absolutely wrong.
After the controversy erupted, Nupur Sharma took back her comments and said in a statement posted on Twitter that she did not intend to hurt anyone. At the same time, reacting to his apology, Owaisi said when did he apologize? He denied it, but didn’t apologise, there is no clear apology.