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‘Deafening silence’: Gambhir voices support for Nupur Sharma amid Prophet row
Gambhir joined the ranks of supporters that had several Delhi and district-level BJP leaders, including Kapil Mishra and Sadhvi Pragya, who have openly vouched for Nupur Sharma.
Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir on Sunday extended his support to suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma, whose comments on Prophet Mohammad caused a stir in India and abroad, calling out the silence of ‘secular liberals’ over death threats received by Sharma.
The BJP MP's remarks that came days after the saffron party suspended its spokesperson and expelled the party’s Delhi media head Naveen Jindal amid a diplomatic fallout, is likely to spark a new controversy.
With a hashtag #LetsTolerateIntolerance, Gambhir tweeted, “Silence of so called 'secular liberals' on the sickening display of hatred & death threats throughout the country against a woman who has apologised is surely DEAFENING!”
Gambhir joined the ranks of supporters which had several Delhi and district-level BJP leaders, including Kapil Mishra and Sadhvi Pragya.
The BJP had taken action against Sharma and Jindal over their derogatory comments on the Prophet after a number of Muslim-majority countries like Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Yemen raised an issue over the matter.
According to reports, the BJP had subsequently instructed its senior officials, including spokespersons, and some Union ministers, who are authorised to take part in TV news debates to be "extremely cautious" when talking about religion on public platforms.
More than a week after Nupur Sharma's suspension, violence broke out in parts of the country with protesters demanding she be put behind bars. Violent clashes have broken out in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Jharakhand and West Bengal over the former spokesperson's remarks.
