On Supreme Court's Remarks On Nupur Sharma, Law Minister Says This

A day after the Supreme Court came down heavily on suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said he will discuss the issue at an appropriate platform.

Speaking to ANI in Hyderabad, where he was attending the BJP national executive meeting, Mr Rijiju said, "First of all, as a Law Minister, it is not proper for me to comment on the judgment as well as the observation made by the Supreme Court bench."

"Even if I do not like the judgment or I have a serious objection to the manner in which the observations are made, I would not like to comment," stated the minister.

Last week, the Supreme Court made strong verbal observations on Nupur Sharma's comments on a televised debate, holding her responsible for the state of violence in the country.

Talking about the issue, the Union Law Minister further said, "Reactions are coming, I am getting lots of representations and messages to react on this, but we will discuss the issue at the appropriate forum."

Interestingly, the remarks were made in verbal or oral observations and not reflected in the order pronounced by the Supreme Court.

"I would not like to make a direct comment or reference on the Supreme Court's observation. It is an oral observation and not a part of a judgment," Mr Rijiju said.

The Supreme Court also said that Ms Sharma and "her loose tongue" has set the entire country on fire and that she is single-handedly responsible for what is happening in the country. She should "apologise to the whole country", the Supreme Court said.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala slammed Ms Sharma for her statement, and while referring to the Udaipur incident, in which two men murdered a tailor, said, "her outburst is responsible for an unfortunate incident."

The Supreme Court also declined Ms Sharma's request to transfer to Delhi all the FIRs registered against her across the country for her controversial remarks on the Prophet, and allowed her to withdraw her plea from the court and avail alternate remedies.

Last month, while speaking on a prime-time TV debate show, Ms Sharma made objectionable remarks against Prophet Muhammad that led to huge protests in India and across several Middle East countries, forcing the BJP to suspend her pending enquiry.