Controversy over remarks on Prophet has not damaged relations with Arab countries: Goyal

New Delhi, Dt

Former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's controversial remarks about the Prophet Mohammad have sparked an international outcry over the Gyanvapi controversy and all Muslim countries have unanimously criticized the Indian government on the issue. At the time, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday that Nupur Sharma's statement would not affect India's good relations with Arab countries. All Indians working in the Gulf countries are safe. However, the number of countries criticizing India on this issue is increasing. Several other countries, including Iraq, Libya and Malaysia, had expressed their displeasure to the Indian ambassadors on the issue.

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in Kochi that the party had taken action against the two leaders for their remarks and the External Affairs Ministry had issued a statement in this regard. There is no need for the tourist community to worry as India has strong ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Regarding the ongoing campaign on social media to boycott Indian products in the wake of the new controversy, Goyal said he was not aware of such a campaign.

He added that the Gulf states had only mentioned that such a statement should not be made and that action had been taken against those who made the remarks. This comment was not made by any government official, so it will not affect the functioning of the government. BJP has taken action against their office bearers. The Foreign Ministry has issued a statement in this regard.

"All Indians living and working in the Gulf region are safe and need not worry," Goyal said. The government has nothing to do with these comments and it will not affect the image of the Modi government. We have very good relations with all these countries.

Meanwhile, more Muslim nations joined the protest on Tuesday in protest of Nupur Sharma's controversial remarks against the Prophet Mohammad. More than a dozen Muslim countries, including Iraq, Libya, Malaysia and Turkey, have sharply criticized Nupur Sharma's controversial remarks. The Iraqi parliamentary committee said such insulting remarks could have serious consequences.

Malaysia advised India to work to end Islamophobia and curb provocative acts in the interest of peace and stability. Turkey called the insulting remarks against the Prophet Mohammad an insult to all Muslims. On Monday, the Taliban in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Oman and Afghanistan also criticized the Prophet for his controversial remarks. However, many Muslim countries welcomed the decision to expel Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal for making provocative statements.