For the third day on Tuesday, India continued to feel the heat from the Islamic world for the denigration of Prophet Mohammed by two office-bearers of the BJP who have since been dropped in a damage-control bid in what has been the Narendra Modi government’s biggest crisis overseas.

The backlash notwithstanding, the external affairs ministry went ahead with its special event to mark eight years of the Modi government. Delivering a speech on “8 Years of Modi Government: Transforming External Engagements”, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar maintained a studied silence on the uproar in West Asia.

The ministry, meanwhile, continued to deal with the blowback of the actions of the two spokespersons for the party.

Overnight, Libya and Malaysia joined the list of countries, which have spoken out against the denigration of Prophet Mohammed. With Libya joining the chorus, the backlash India has been facing since Sunday for the actions of BJP functionaries has now expanded to the African continent.

Malaysia summoned the Indian High Commissioner on Tuesday afternoon to “convey our total repudiation over this incident”, a statement issued by the Malaysian foreign ministry said.

While welcoming the decision of the ruling party to suspend the office-bearers who denigrated Prophet Mohammed, Malaysia has urged India to “work together in ending the Islamophobia and cease any provocative acts in the interest of peace and stability”.

According to the Iraqi News Agency, the Parliamentary Endowments and Tribes Committee has called for the Indian ambassador in Baghdad to be summoned as a mark of protest against the statements denigrating Prophet Mohammed.

The Indian embassy in Baghdad issued the statement that missions elsewhere have been using to underscore that the opinions of the two party functionaries do not reflect the views of the government, adding that “strong action” has been taken.