India's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation had shown an "anti-India agenda" by saying that violent clashes that erupted last week during a Hindu religious festival targeted the Muslim community.

Edited by | Sonia Albert

POLITICS section

5 April 2023 - New Delhi

    India's statement comes in response to a statement issued by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation earlier on Tuesday calling on the Indian authorities to take firm action against the instigators and perpetrators of such acts.

The clashes that took place in several states last week disrupted religious processions during the Hindu festival of Ram Navami.

In the city of Howrah, which is located in the eastern state of West Bengal, several vehicles were set on fire, and shops were looted as rival groups exchanged stones.

At least 36 people were arrested in Howrah and 22 in Vadodara in the western Indian state of Gujarat, the birthplace of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Local media reported that two people died in the violence.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which includes 57 members and is based in Jeddah, said, "The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemns the provocative acts of violence and vandalism, which are a vivid manifestation of the rise of Islamophobia (anti-Islam) and the systematic targeting of Muslims in India."

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi condemned the OIC statement.

"This is yet another example of their sectarian mentality and anti-India agenda. The OIC is damaging its reputation with its constant manipulation by anti-India forces," Bagchi wrote in a statement on Twitter.