Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei said the Indian government "should confront extremist Hindus" and "stop the massacre of Muslims" in a sharply-worded tweet on Thursday referring to last week's violence in northeast Delhi in which 53 were killed.
"The hearts of Muslims all over the world are grieving over the massacre of Muslims in India. The government of India should confront extremist Hindus and their parties and stop the massacre of Muslims in order to prevent India's isolation from the world of Islam," Khamenei tweeted, with the hashtag #IndianMuslimslnDanger.
The hearts of Muslims all over the world are grieving over the massacre of Muslims in India. The govt of India should confront extremist Hindus & their parties & stop the massacre of Muslims in order to prevent India’s isolation from the world of Islam.#IndianMuslimslnDanger
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) March 5, 2020
Adverse comments have also come from the British Parliament, the Indonesian government and federal panels of the US Congress.
India again took on Erdogan who has been a consistent critic of New Delhi’s Kashmir policy and has now weighed in on the Delhi riots.
Raveesh Kumar, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, had urged international leaders and bodies to not make irresponsible statements during what he called sensitive times.
The Delhi violence erupted in the middle of a two-day visit by US President Donald Trump, who, at one point, was only 15 km from the rioting. Asked on the violence in another part of Delhi, Mr Trump said he did not discuss individual attacks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that these were "up to India".
Mr Trump said he did speak to PM Modi on religious freedom in the country and that the Prime Minister told him "he wants people to have religious freedom".
The violence began as clashes between rival groups over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, or CAA. For four days, mobs armed with sticks and stones burnt shops, schools and homes and terrorised neighbourhoods until the police finally managed to get things under control.