Madhya Pradesh BJP Minister Vijay Shah's allegedly hateful remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, a senior Army officer who was widely celebrated as one of the faces of Operation Sindoor, have sparked widespread criticism from various circles.
From a senior leader of his own party to several opposition leaders have slammed Shah over his statement calling Qureshi "a sister of the terrorists" involved in the deadly Pahalgam attack.
Addressing a public gathering during a government function in Mhow on Monday, Shah brought up Operation Sindoor and said to a cheering audience, “Modi ji is striving for the society. Those who widowed our daughters (in Pahalgam), we sent a sister of their own to teach them a lesson.”
Raking up how the terrorists in Pahalgam had apparently done physical checks on tourists to identify them by their religion and shoot them, Shah continued: “Now, Modi ji could not have done the same. So he sent a sister from their society—so that if you widowed our sisters, a sister of yours will come and undress you. And he [Modi] had said India will strike them in their own home.”
As the video of the speech went viral, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge pointed out previous events of abuse against the wife of a martyred naval officer and the daughter of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and slammed the "anti-women mentality of the BJP and RSS."
"First, the wife of a martyred naval officer in Pahalgam was trolled on social media, then the daughter of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was harassed, and now a BJP minister is making such indecent remarks about our heroine Sofiya Quraishi," he wrote in a post on X.
Kharge urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack the minister.
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari also demanded Shah’s immediate dismissal from the state cabinet.
“If the chief minister fails to sack Shah, it will be seen as the state cabinet endorsing his indecent and communal remarks,” Patwari stated.
The Congress also staged protests in various parts of the state demanding the tribal affairs minister to be sacked.
The National Commission for Women on Wednesday condemned the statement and called for respect for the women in uniform.
Without naming the minister, NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar said in a post on X, "It is extremely unfortunate that such statements are being made by some responsible persons which are derogatory and unacceptable towards women. This not only hurts the dignity of women in our society but is also an insult to the daughters of the nation who are playing an important role in the security of the country."
Condemning the remarks as "disgusting, uncivilised and indecent," BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday said that the minister's statements were intended to destroy the positive atmosphere due to the army's success.
"First, the Foreign Secretary, and then the disgusting, uncivilized, and indecent remarks towards a female army officer are truly destroying the entire positive atmosphere of enthusiasm and excitement that the whole country is feeling due to the Indian Army's success against Pakistan in 'Operation Sindoor,' which is extremely sad and shameful," Mayawati wrote in a post on X.
She urged the BJP and the central government to take seriously the "indecent remark" made by the senior politician "concerning a Muslim woman army spokesperson" and initiate strict action against the minister to protect the "mutual brotherhood and harmony in the country."
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi condemned Shah's remarks and called him a "fool."
"He is a fool. Some people have become habitual of losing sense in enthusiasm," Naqvi told PTI, reacting to the statement.
Terming the remarks "unacceptable and condemnable", Naqvi said Shah has become a "laughing stock" by making such comments against Colonel Qureshi, whose entire family remained committed to national security and that the country salutes them for their nationalist resolve.
Following the backlash, Vijay Shah said that he is ready to "apologise ten times" if his remarks have hurt any society or religion.
