Addressing the Prime Minister, KTR said his party should apologise to Indians at home. (File)
Telangana Minister K T Rama Rao has targeted the centre over the backlash from the Gulf following remarks by BJP spokespersons on Prophet Muhammad.
Mr Rao, popularly known as KTR, has questioned why India as a country should apologise for the "hate speeches of BJP bigots".
Addressing the Prime Minister, he said his party should apologise to Indians at home for "spewing and spreading hatred day in day out".
"It is BJP that should apologise; not India as a Nation," he tweeted.
The minister said the Prime Minister's "silence was deafening & shocking when BJP MP Pragya Singh hailed assassination of Mahatma Gandhi".
"Let me remind you sir; What you permit is what you promote," he said, adding that "tacit support from top is what emboldened the bigotry & hatred".
Commenting on the BJP's action against its spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said the BJP should send those making such remarks to jail.
"The use of offensive language for any religion is not appropriate. In this matter, BJP should also strictly tighten the noose on its people. Only suspending and expelling them will not work, but they should be sent to jail under strict laws," she tweeted.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, too, slammed the government on similar lines.
"India has not made any mistake for which it should apologise. The mistake has been made by BJP. Why will the country compensate? The Prime Minister is being reminded of his Raj Dharma by Qatar and Kuwait. What can be more shameful?," he said in a video message.
"The Prime Minister and his party has made our heads hang in shame, and India is apologising? We do not accept that any Indian is at fault here. India always honours the values enshrined in the Constitution. The BJP does not do it, they must apologise, they must compensate."
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said that the country would not be embarrassed if he spoke out on time. "You should apologise to the country that we have been embarrassed because of you," he said.
India is facing a huge backlash from the Gulf over the remarks by the BJP spokespersons.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Iran have strongly condemned the remarks, describing them as "Islamophobic".
Qatar and Bahrain summoned the Indian envoy and conveyed their disappointment. Doha also said that it expects a public apology from the Indian government.
Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have welcomed the BJP's action against the spokespersons.