The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed Madhya Pradesh BJP minister Kunwar Vijay Shah over his “terrorists’ sister” remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, the face of India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan. The top court, however, agreed to hear his plea on Friday against the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s May 14 order that an FIR be registered against the senior BJP leader.
The top court said that a person holding a constitutional office should be responsible when this country is going through such a situation. “He has to know what he is saying,” the apex court added.
Shah moved the top court after the MP High Court took suo motu cognizance of Shah’s remarks and directed the state DGP to file an FIR against him. The High Court had termed the senior BJP leader’s remarks ‘dangerous’, ‘disparaging’, and ‘language of gutters’.
Following the court’s directions, the Madhya Pradesh police registered a case against Shah under sections 152 (acts endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India), 196(1)(b) (committing any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquillity), 197(1)(c) (making any assertion concerning the obligation of any class of persons by reason of their being members of any religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community and such assertion is likely to cause disharmony or feelings of enmity or hatred between such members and other persons) of the BNS.”
What did Shah say about Colonel Qureshi?
Addressing a gathering near Indore, the BJP leader, while praising the Modi government over Operation Sindoor, allegedly referred to Qureshi as “sister of terrorists”.
His video went viral, sparking a massive backlash from all quarters. The Opposition Congress demanded that Shah be removed from the state cabinet. CPI leader P Sandosh Kumar echoed the Congress demand, slamming the BJP for not acting against him. He said the BJP is nothing without people like Vijay Shah.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi became a household name after she addressed the official press briefings on Operation Sindooor along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and IAF Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.
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