'Nupur Sharma is a hero': Anti-Islam Dutch leader, on his way to becoming PM, had once defended BJP leader

Chandigarh, November 24

In 2022, far-right leader Geert Wilders had defended BJP leader Nupur Sharma over her comments on Prophet Muhammad.

“Nupur Sharma is a hero who spoke nothing but the truth. The whole world should be proud of her. She deserves the Nobel Prize. And India is a Hindu nation, the Indian government is obliged to strongly defend Hindus against Islamic hate and violence,” he had said in a tweet after Nupur Sharma’s remarks on a TV debate sparked a row.

The government sought to distance itself from the comments by describing them as “views of fringe elements”. She was also suspended as the BJP spokesperson.

The Supreme Court also noted that Sharma’s remarks “ignited emotions across the country”.

Far-right populist Geert Wilders wants to be the Netherlands’ next prime minister and would focus his efforts on curbing immigration, he said following a landmark election win that will have repercussions in the Netherlands and beyond.

Wilders’ win sent a warning shot to mainstream parties across Europe ahead of the European Parliament elections next June, which will likely be fought on the same issues as the Dutch election: immigration, cost of living and climate change.

“We’ve had it with the old politicians,” voter Herman Borcher said in the eastern town of Enschede, summing up the mood.

A fan of former US President Donald Trump and Hungary’s eurosceptic Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Wilders is openly anti-Islam, and anti-EU and said “the Netherlands will be returned to the Dutch”.

But his most radical ideas – and in particular any plans to take the country out of the EU or ban the Koran – will be rejected by the other parties he must work with in order to form a coalition government, meaning he will have to compromise. With Reuters inputs