BHOPAL: While the major controversy generated by BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh’s tribal affairs minister Vijay Shah’s “sister of terrorists” veiled remark for Colonel Sofia Qureshi refuses to die down, the central Indian state’s deputy chief minister Jagdish Devda has now found himself at the centre of a somewhat similar political storm.
The opposition Congress has accused the deputy chief minister and finance minister of insulting the valour and courage of the Indian Armed Forces. The party alleges that Devda said, “The country’s army and soldiers bow at the feet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
The Congress, along with the chairperson of its digital and social media platform, Supriya Shrinate, shared a 0.45-minute video (which is part of a 1.24-minute viral video of the deputy CM’s speech) on their X accounts on Friday. The opposition party alleged that Devda’s statement was “very cheap and shameful” and amounted to an insult to the courage and bravery of the army.
“When the whole country is bowing in front of the army today, at that time the BJP leaders are expressing their low thinking about the brave army. BJP and Jagdish Devda should apologise for it and he should be removed from his post,” the Congress said.
Shrinate demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately sack both — MP deputy CM Jagdish Devda for his army-soldiers bowing at the PM’s feet remark and MP cabinet minister Vijay Shah for his “sister of terrorists” comment about Colonel Sofia Qureshi.
The deputy CM, however, has hit out at the Congress and certain sections of the media for allegedly distorting and misrepresenting his speech.
“What I said while inaugurating the day-long training programme of civil defence volunteers in Jabalpur is being presented by the Congress, as well as sections of the media, incorrectly. What I said was that the people of the entire country bow down at the feet of India’s Armed Forces and soldiers for the way the entire Operation Sindoor was carried out and the manner in which those behind the Pahalgam terror attack were punished,"Devda told journalists while clarifying the matter.
"The word natmastak (bow down) has been used for people of the country bowing at the feet of India’s Armed Forces for their valour during Operation Sindoor. Strict action needs to be taken against all those who have distorted my statements and presented them wrongly. I’ll definitely lodge a complaint over it,” he added.
Importantly, in the 1.24-minute viral video of Devda’s Friday speech in Jabalpur (0.45 seconds of which are doing the rounds on social media), the deputy CM is heard saying, “The entire country was fuming with anger over the dastardly terror attack on our tourists in Pahalgam on April 22. The nation was unanimous on avenging the terror attack by punishing those who carried it out and those behind the attackers. We would like to thank PM Modi. The entire country bows down at the feet of the armed forces and soldiers for the reply given by them.”
In the viral video, Devda is seen referring to Operation Sindoor, launched by the Indian Army in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack that claimed 26 lives on April 22.
