Indore: A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against Madhya Pradesh Tribal Welfare Minister Vijay Shah on Wednesday night in compliance with the MP High Court order for making objectionable remarks regarding Colonel Sofia Qureshi, police said.
Colonel Qureshi had conducted the daily media briefings during Operation Sindoor, executed by the Indian Armed Forces to destroy terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 dastardly terror strike in Pahalgam of Kashmir that left 26 people, including 25 tourists, dead.
The FIR was lodged at Manpur police station in Indore district. The matter is likely to be heard by the high court on Thursday.
Ahead of the filing of the FIR, state Chief Minister Mohan Yadav issued necessary instructions regarding compliance with the high court order.
Taking to X, Yadav said "According to the order of the Hon'ble Madhya Pradesh High Court, the Hon'ble Chief Minister has given instructions to take action with reference to the statement of Cabinet Minister Shri Vijay Shah."
Yadav also held discussions with senior police and administration officials. He also interacted with state BJP president Vishnudatta Sharma and party's state general secretary (Organisation) Hitanand.
A police press release late on Wednesday night said some parts of Minister Shah's address at a public meeting in Raikunda village under Manpur police station had gone viral in the media.
The MP High Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter and ordered registration of an FIR on Wednesday itself.
In compliance with the order, an FIR has been registered against Shah under sections 152 (action endangering the sovereignty, unity, integrity of India), 196(1)(B) (acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different groups) and 197(1)(C) (imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The division bench comprising Justices Atul Sreedharan and Anuradha Shukla had taken suo motu cognisance of media reports and passed the orders to the state's Advocate General, Prashant Singh.
The court had directed the AG to immediately inform the Director General of Police (DGP) about the order and warned that non-compliance could lead to contempt proceedings.
Since Tuesday, a video of the minister's speech in Indore district has been going viral. In it, he is heard saying, “…..those who destroyed the vermilion of our daughters…we sent their sister…”.
This is a BJP MLA from Madhya Pradesh, Kunwar Vijay Shah.
In this speech referring to Colonel Sofia Qureshi , he is saying that “ Modiji sent the Pakistanis their own sister to teach them a lesson”
Colonel Qureshi made India proud, roared like a lioness for India and this the… pic.twitter.com/EBHuQ3ycvd
The Minister was trolled a lot on social media after this statement.
While the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party took cognisance of the matter, the state BJP unit also issued a warning to the minister, who had also used some unparliamentary words during his speech.
Drawing all round flak, Shah apologised, but a video soon went viral of the minister laughing immediately after apologising, stoking a further conspiracy.
#WATCH | Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah apologises for the objectionable remarks he made against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi in a speech yesterday.
