Prophet Row: Opposition MP Faces Twitter Backlash After Calling for BJP's Nupur Sharma to Be Hanged

On 26 May, Nupur Sharma, a spokeswoman of India's federally ruling BJP, made controversial remarks about the Prophet Mohammad during a debate on television. Though the party suspended the official on 6 June, her comments caused widespread anger in the country, leading to massive protests on Friday in Delhi, Ranchi, and Kolkata, among other places.

Indian parliamentarian Imtiaz Jaleel, a member of India's opposition All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party, faced a severe backlash on social media after he demanded that the now-suspended BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma be hanged for mocking the Quran and the prophet Mohammad.

Jaleel, who is a lawmaker from Aurangabad city in India's western state of Maharashtra called for the death penalty on Friday while he was addressing a protest rally.

"If Nupur Sharma is to be hanged, hang her from this very square in Aurangabad," he said.

"Islam is a religion of peace. True, people are angry. We too demand that Nupur Sharma be given capital punishment. If she is let off easily, then [hurting religious sentiments] will carry on endlessly. We want to say that if any person makes such comments against any caste, religion, religious leader, or our Prophet, then there should be a law which ensures strict and immediate action. Just removing her from the party is not enough," Jaleel later added when local reporters asked him to confirm his comments made during the protest rally.

The video of his comments subsequently went viral on social media where he faced a massive backlash from netizens.

1) AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel openly said that Nupur Sharma should be hanged in Aurangabad.

And, who is defending his statement?

So called journalist Rohini Singh, NDTV journalist Gargi Rawat and NDTV anchor Kadambani Sharma. pic.twitter.com/8VHowWtxby

— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) June 11, 2022

Several Twitter users even asked the police to open a case of hate speech against him.

"Mumbai Police why should you not take action against the AIMIM leader?" a user asked on the micro-blogging platform.

Another wrote: "To take action against the AIMIM leader they have to take action against Nupur Sharma first. Depth & kind of action taken against Sharma will determine depth & kind of action against the AIMIM leader. Now you may suggest the kind of action to be taken against Nupur Sharma first."

"Why Mr Jaleel? Why can't you wait for the law of the land to take its course?" a third said while asking the AIMIM politician a question.

This weekend, India witnessed a wave of protests sparked by Sharma's words about the Prophet Mohammad.

As Muslims congregated for Friday's mid-day prayer - known as the Jummah Namaz - they staged protests in different parts of Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and in cities such as Kolkata (West Bengal), Hyderabad (Telangana), and Ranchi (Jharkhand).

The protests turned violent in several cities. In Ranchi, the capital of the central Indian state of Jharkhand, there was rioting and arson and officials have confirmed that two died and several others, including security personnel, were critically injured.

Last week, India's global image was dealt a major blow, particularly in the Muslim world after spokesmen from the ruling BJP made incendiary remarks about the Quran and the Prophet Mohammad. Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran all summoned their local Indian envoys and a number of other Islamic nations issued a stern message of rebuke to Delhi.