MP minister sparks controversy with veiled remark on Col Sofia Qureshi, tenders apology

BJP minister Kunwar Vijay Shah from Madhya Pradesh sparked a controversy with his veiled remark about Colonel Sofia Qureshi, one of the two female public faces of the Indian Armed Forces during Operation Sindoor.
Speaking at an event in Indore district’s Mhow on Monday, the tribal affairs minister Kunwar Vijay Shah, while lauding PM Narendra Modi’s leadership over Operation Sindoor to avenge the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, said, “Those who widowed our daughters, we sent the sister of the same ‘katey-pitey’ log to screw them.”

He added, “They (terrorists) undressed and killed our Hindus. Now, Modiji couldn’t have done the same, so he sent a sister from their (terrorists) society, to ensure that if you widowed our sisters, a sister of yours will come and undress (shame) you. He (PM Modi) had declared that India will strike the terrorists in their home and bury them, which he did.”

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Though he did not mention the name of Colonel Sofia, who had briefed the media when Operation Sindoor was underway, the video of his speech was widely shared on social media.

MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari demanded that MP CM Dr Mohan Yadav sack the concerned cabinet minister and said, “The minister’s public utterance is the collective responsibility of the state’s council of ministers. The minister needs to be sacked immediately.”

Realising that his Monday’s public utterances had caused major embarrassment for him and his party, Shah clarified on Tuesday that his words had been misconstrued on social media.
“I come from a military family background, some of whom have been martyred during the Kargil War. If I spoke something with a heavy heart due to the anger over Pahalgam terror attack killings, I am ready to apologise. I salute sister Sofia, who rose above communal and caste lines to make India proud. She is more respectable than my own sister. If any community or religion has been hurt due to my utterances, I apologise for it,” he posted.

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Shah, the 62-year-old senior tribal politician of the BJP, is an eight-time MLA and has been winning from Harsud-ST seat of southwestern MP’s Khandwa district and is known to have kicked up political rows in the past too due to his public utterances.

#WATCH | Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah made an objectionable remark against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi in a speech yesterday.

Clarifying his remark, he says, "...Do not see my speech in a different context. I want to tell people that my speech is not in that… pic.twitter.com/Hd7ienyKH8

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge reacted to the remarks and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi sack Shah.
“A minister of the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh has made extremely insulting, shameful and vulgar remarks about our brave daughter Colonel Sofia Qureshi,” said Kharge.

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