Uddhav Thackeray,
chief minister of Maharashtra and son of Hindutva icon Babasaheb Thackeray,
said Wednesday that BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s comments have embarrassed
India. The country has been “brought to its knees and was forced to apologise,”
Thackeray said asking why should the country apologise on behalf of the Bharatiya
Janata Party.

“The Middle East
and the Arab countries brought our country to its knees and forced to
apologise. What led to this? India has to apologise. What has the country done?
It is the BJP and its spokespersons that have committed the crime,” Thackeray
said.

He added that the
words of a BJP spokesperson or BJP cannot be India’s stand on any issue. “The
words BJP spokesperson (Nupur Sharma) used tarnished India’s image at the
international level. It damaged the image of my country and not that of the
BJP.”

Nupur Sharma,
now-former spokesperson of the BJP, made certain comments about the Prophet
Mohammed that drew criticism from Islamic nations around the world. Qatar and
Saudi Arabia, among others, stridently criticised the remarks. Several Islamic
nations called Indian Ambassadors to articulate their condemnation. People in
some Gulf nations called for a ban on Indian products.

India maintained
that the stance put forward by Sharma was not India’s position and said that
suitable action had been taken against her. Sharma, who was suspended, later
withdrew her comments.

Wednesday’s rally
was Thackeray’s first outside Mumbai since he underwent a spine surgery in
November. And there, the leader of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), slammed India’s
ruling party for the country’s inflation pressures and for going to mosques in
search of Shivlings.

“Inflation is
rising, rupee is declining, but our worry is Shivling lying beneath the mosque,
what is under Taj Mahal, what is under Gyanvapi masjid,” Thackeray said.

Thackeray also
spoke on the recent killings in Kashmir. Putting the flight of Kashmiri Pandits
in perspective with Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s
threat to recite the Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques, Uddhav said, “It makes
one angry that Kashmiri Pandits are leaving the Valley and no one is ready to
speak for them. Did any single spokesperson of BJP speak on this issue?”