BHOPAL: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its government in Madhya Pradesh have come under intense attack from the opposition Congress over the delay in taking action against its ministers for allegedly making controversial statements about the Indian Army.
First-time Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) on Friday to post, “The constant insult of our army by BJP leaders is extremely shameful and unfortunate. First a minister of Madhya Pradesh made an indecent comment on women soldiers and now their deputy CM has grossly insulted the army."
"The people of the entire country are proud of the valour of the army, but the people of the BJP are insulting the army. Instead of acting against these leaders, BJP is trying its best to save them. What message does BJP want to give to our army and countrymen?”
Priyanka’s post referred to MP Cabinet Minister Vijay Shah, who now faces an FIR registered against him on the orders of the Madhya Pradesh High Court for his “sister of terrorists” remark about Colonel Sofia Qureshi, and Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda’s alleged “Indian Army bows at the feet of PM Narendra Modi” comment on Friday.
In Bhopal, Congress MLAs led by Umang Singhar submitted a memorandum to the state’s Governor Mangubhai Patel, seeking Minister Vijay Shah’s dismissal from the Cabinet. They later staged a protest outside the Raj Bhawan, prompting the police to detain them and take them away in a police bus.
When questioned by journalists on Friday about Congress’s sustained demand for Shah’s resignation, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said, “Let the Congress do whatever drama it wants to. The matter (Shah’s case) is sub judice, so is the Congress above the Court? Also, why did the Congress not act against the state’s Leader of Opposition (Umang Singhar), who too was accused in cases in the past?”
“Congress is habitual of disrespecting the court. We all remember how, faced with an adverse judgment against her from the Allahabad High Court, then PM Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency in the country in 1975,” the MP CM said.
“We’re abiding by the Court orders and will continue to do so in future also,” Yadav added, stopping short of saying anything on Shah’s resignation or dismissal from the government.
