World News: India rushes to quell outrage after hate remarks – Gulf Digital News

World News: India rushes to quell outrage after hate remarks – Gulf Digital News

India's government sought on Monday to calm anger at home and abroad after two officials of the ruling BJP party made remarks about the Prophet Mohammed, with 38 people arrested for rioting in a northern city and a protest planned later in Mumbai.

The arrests in the city of Kanpur were part of an effort to quell sporadic religious tension that arose after two officials from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party made remarks that have generated widespread anger among Muslims in India and overseas.

Some of India's top officials were engaged in managing the diplomatic fallout as nations including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE and Iran demanded an apology from the government for allowing the derogatory remarks.

Over the weekend, Indian diplomats stationed in the Gulf and neighbouring Islamic nations were summoned by officials in those countries to protest against the comments by BJP officials.

India's foreign ministry said in a statement the offensive tweets and comments did not, in any way, reflect the views of the government.

The BJP suspended a spokesperson and expelled another official on Sunday for hurting religious sentiments of a minority community.

A senior official at the Qatar Embassy in New Delhi said Modi's government must publicly distance