Lucknow, May 14 (PTI) Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday attacked Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah over his controversial remarks against Colonel Sofia Qureshi, calling the comments "highly condemnable" and "an insult to every woman and the armed forces".
Earlier in the day, the Madhya Pradesh High Court castigated minister Vijay Shah for passing "dangerous" and "scurrilous" remarks and using "language of the gutters" against the officer and ordered the police to file an FIR against him for promoting enmity and hatred.
In a post on X, Yadav said, "The extremely objectionable statement made by a BJP minister from Madhya Pradesh is not only an insult to a senior woman military officer but to every woman and the armed forces of the country."
He alleged that the minister in question has always been a mouthpiece of the BJP and its allies' "anti-women mindset".
"He is the same person who, a few years ago, obstructed the work of a renowned actress. The truth of the BJP's so-called 'Nari Shakti Vandan Abhiyan' (women empowerment campaign) is exposed by such toxic thoughts," Yadav added.
Calling for action, the SP leader questioned whether the BJP would act on its own or whether the public and united women power would have to rise against such elements.
"Such people should not be made ministers or even representatives of any locality," he said.
Col Qureshi came into the spotlight for holding regular press briefings along with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh on Operation Sindoor conducted last week by Indian armed forces to strike terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Shah, the tribal affairs minister and BJP leader, sparked a major controversy with his objectionable comments against Col Qureshi, whom he tried to project as a "sister of terrorists".
He made the remarks while addressing a gathering in Ramkunda village near Indore on Monday.
In his speech, Shah had said, "They (terrorists) killed our Hindu brothers by making them remove their clothes. PM Modi ji responded by sending their (terrorists') sister in an Army plane to strike them in their houses. They (terrorists) made our sisters widows, so Modiji sent the sister of their community to strip them and teach them a lesson."
He said, "Revenge was taken for the honour of our country (India), respect, and for the (slain) husbands of our sisters by sending a sister from your (terrorists') community to Pakistan."
After he came under fire for the remarks, Shah said if anyone is hurt by his statement, he was ready to apologise ten times, adding that he respected Colonel Qureshi more than his sister.