Prophet controversy: Supriya Sule targets Centre over protests, says it signals something 'really simmering'

A day after protests erupted in parts of the country over the inflammatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad by suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma and the now-expelled leader Naveen Kumar Jindal, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule on Saturday targeted the central government, saying that it is a signal of something "really simmering".

"The Government of India needs to get its act together. What is happening in the country today is a signal so I hope home ministry take serious cognizance of this and does something. Be it Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi or UP Government of India and Home Ministry has failed this nation," Sule told reporters here.

"It is a signal of something really simmering. People don't just pelt stones, these are all BJP-run states... The Government of India needs to talk beyond jingoism," he added.

Several incidents of violence were reported from different parts of the country over the controversial remarks of Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal on Friday. Following the protests, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) asked the police heads of states and Union Territories to be prepared and alert as they will be on target. The MHA also has asked all the states to take preventive actions, keep a check on borders and identified sensitive areas.

The NCP leader also congratulated the BJP on their performance in the Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra.

"I congratulate BJP on their performance. We accept our defeat. We clearly need to introspect on what went right and what went wrong. If you look at the numbers, clearly we didn't have the right numbers till the end. But we took a chance," Sule said.

In Maharashtra, BJP was certain to get two seats but the party managed to secure a third seat as well with the help of Independents. Union Minister Piyush Goyal, former state minister Anil Bonde and Dhananjay Mahadik from the BJP emerged victorious while one candidate each from Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won. 285 votes were polled on Friday and 41 were needed to win one Rajya Sabha seat.

Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut, NCP's Praful Patel and Congress's Imran Pratapgarhi were elected without any hassle. However, all eyes were on the contest for the sixth seat where the BJP has fielded Dhananjay Mahadik and Sanjay Pawar was in the fray as the Shiv Sena candidate. Mahadik's came as a setback for Shiv Sena which was hoping to get two seats in the Rajya Sabha elections.

Commenting on the poll results, Praful Patel said, "Barring a few exceptions, candidates win(in RS polls) on basis of the party's strength. It is natural that a party that has a majority in Vidhan Sabha of a state will have more winning candidates going to Rajya Sabha. Karnataka has BJP government, Rajasthan has Congress."

"MVA government in Maharashtra didn't come with 200 seats. The government was formed with a post-poll alliance. The numbers are definitely more than half but we don't have 200 MLAs, otherwise, the result would have been the same here too," he added.

(ANI)