Amid the ongoing protests in India over Prophet Muhammad, the United States on Thursday condemned remarks by Indian ruling party officials that sparked an uproar in Muslim countries.

Speaking to reporters, State Department spokesman Ned Price said, “We condemn the offensive comments made by two BJP officials and we were glad to see that the party publicly condemns those comments.”

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“We regularly engage with the Indian government at senior levels on human rights concerns including freedom of religion or belief and we encourage India to promote respect for human rights,” he said.

On May 26, Nupur Sharma, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made a televised remarks about Prophet Muhammad that have triggered demonstrations across the Islamic world.

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The remarks set off diplomatic protests in wealthy Arab states that usually enjoy close relations with India. In Bangladesh, protesters have demanded a formal condemnation from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a close ally of India.

In a bid to make damage-control, the BJP suspended Sharma as well as Naveen Kumar Jindal, another figure in the party who was accused of inflammatory tweets about the Prophet Muhammad.

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Since the late 1990s, the United States has sought to deepen ties with India, believing the world’s two largest democracies have common interests especially in the face of a rising China.

However, the United States has several times carefully voiced concern about human rights in India as PM Modi faces accusations of pursuing policies that target the Muslim minority.