Nupur Sharma, a spokesperson for India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has found herself at the centre of a huge controversy after a video of her TV debate went viral. Internet users demanded her arrest by trending hashtag #ArrestNupurSharma as they accused the BJP spokesperson of hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims around the world by making objectionable comments about Islam and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Angry Muslims also slammed the TV channel, Times Now, for allowing the BJP functionary to insult Islam and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Faced with growing condemnation, Times Now decided to delete the questionable video from its YouTube channel and issued a clarification by distancing itself from Sharma’s comments.
Times Now said in a statement, “Views expressed by BJP Spokesperson on Newshour@9 last night are her personal views. TIMES NOW does not endorse views of participants. We urge participants on our debates to maintain restraint and not indulge in unparliamentary language against fellow panelists.”
Janta Ka Reporter has contacted Times Now asking for reasons to delete the video. We will update this story once we receive a response from the TV channel.
Who is Nupur Sharma?
Nupur shot to prominence in 2015 when she was fielded against Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) chief ministerial candidate Arvind Kejriwal from New Delhi assembly seat. She was reportedly the choice of none other than Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sharma, however, lost the elections by more than 31,000 votes.
Born on 23 April 1985, Sharma received her education from Delhi Public School (DPS), Mathura Road in New Delhi. She obtained her B.A. Economics (Hons.) degree from Hindu College of Delhi University. While in Delhi, she also received her degree in law (LL.B) from the Faculty of Law, Delhi University. Sharma later travelled to London to complete her LLM at the prestigious London School of Economics.
Sharma was quite active in student politics in Delhi University and even won the Delhi University Student Union (DUSU) election on an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) ticket in 2008.