Srinagar, May 28 (PTI) The National Conference on Saturday demanded stern action against BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her alleged remarks on Prophet Muhammad during a television show.

"The party expresses dismay over the 'blasphemous, offensive, and frighteningly hurtful' remarks of the BJP spokesperson against Prophet Muhammad during a debate on a national TV news channel," Salman Ali Sagar, provincial president, Youth National Conference (YNC) Kashmir, said in a statement.

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He termed Sharma's views unfounded, unsubstantiated and uncalled for in entirety.

“The BJP and the Union government must offer an unqualified apology for such sacrilegious comments in which the most sacred name for Muslims was used in a bid to stoke communal passions,” he said.

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The National Conference (NC) leader also demanded lodging of an FIR against the BJP leader. He said the smart alecks of the saffron brigade cannot hide behind Article 19 of the constitution which guarantees freedom of speech to the citizens.

He added that action against Sharma could well send a strong message to all the nefarious elements of the country who are out to create a chasm between Hindus and Muslims for their own “political chicanery”.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)