Hours after stating that it respects all religions and strongly denounces insults of any religious personality of any religion, the BJP on Sunday suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal for their alleged controversial comments on Prophet Muhammad.

In a letter to Sharma, member secretary, BJP Central Disciplinary Committee, Om Pathak, said, “You have expressed views contrary to the party’s position on various matters, which is in clear violation of Rule 10 (a) of constitution of the Bharatiya Janata Party.”

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“I have been directed to convey to you that pending further inquiry, you are suspended from the party and from your responsibilities/assignments if any, with immediate effect,” Pathak added.

In another letter to Jindal, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said, “The view expressed by you on social media to incite communal disharmony is against the basic thought of the party. You worked against party ideology and policy. Therefore, your primary membership of the party is cancelled with immediate effect and you’re also suspended from the party.”

Gupta told a news agency that there is no place for indiscipline in the party and no one is allowed to cross the party line. “It has come to our notice that Jindal has crossed the party line and tried to spread hatred and communal disharmony through his social media posts. We have cancelled his primary membership,” Gupta said.

Earlier in the day in a press statement, BJP national general secretary, Arun Singh said, “During thousands of years of the history of India, every religion has blossomed and flourished. The Bharatiya Janata Party respects all religions. The BJP strongly denounces insults of any religious personality of any religion. The Bharatiya Janata Party is also strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion. The BJP does not promote such people or philosophy.”

Singh noted that India’s Constitution gives the right to every citizen to practice any religion of his/her choice and to honour and respect every religion. “As India celebrates 75th year of its Independence, we are committed to making India a great country where all are equal and everyone lives with dignity, where all are committed to India’s unity and integrity, where all enjoy the fruits of growth and development,” Singh said.

Several FIRs have been filed against BJP national spokesperson Sharma in Maharashtra and violent clash erupted in Kanpur on June 3 after her remarks on Prophet Muhammad during a TV debate. Jindal also made insulting comment against Prophet Muhammad on social media.