Madhya Pradesh minister Kunwar Vijay Shah has triggered a fresh controversy with a remark that has been condemned as both religiously divisive and offensive to women, as the Opposition accused him of indirectly referring to senior Army officer Colonel Sofiya Qureshi in a communal context, as though she has ties to the terrorists who created mayhem.
The statement, made during a public event near Mhow, alluded to the idea that India had responded to the Pahalgam terror attack through a woman from the attackers’ community — that the terror “attack was avenged using their own sister” — which the Congress said amounted to targeting Col Qureshi based on her religion while appropriating her identity to score political points.
Despite his clarification, the comment has sparked outrage across political and civil society circles, with critics asserting that Shah’s choice of words insulted a serving officer of the Indian Army and insinuated communal links that have no basis in fact.
The Congress demanded the minister’s immediate dismissal, arguing that his comment reflected a pattern of misogyny and communalism, particularly as Shah has previously made disparaging statements against women and marginalised communities.
Opposition leaders also highlighted Shah’s chequered history with controversial remarks, recalling his resignation from the Cabinet in 2013 over sexist comments about the then chief minister’s wife, and noting that despite repeated controversies, he has continued to enjoy a place in the government due to his influence over tribal vote banks.
The minister’s latest statement has added to his growing list of controversies, including remarks in 2018 seen as derogatory to the transgender community, an inflammatory jibe against former prime ministers in 2022, and a personal attack on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s unmarried status.
He has also drawn criticism for his tenure as Education Minister, where he enforced the mandatory use of patriotic slogans during roll calls and threatened minority institutions over the national anthem.
In December 2024, Shah came under fire from environmentalists after being filmed having a picnic in a restricted zone of the Satpura Tiger Reserve, prompting an official inquiry. His actions were widely condemned for flouting conservation rules and misusing his position.
While Shah later expressed regret over his latest remark, stating that it had been misunderstood and insisting that his intention was to praise Colonel Qureshi’s courage, he also acknowledged that if his words had caused offence, he was willing to apologise not just once but ten times, describing himself as human and capable of error.
Shah, a senior tribal leader in the BJP and currently holding key portfolios in the Mohan Yadav Cabinet, repeated the contentious phrase multiple times, implying that revenge was exacted using a woman from the enemy’s community, and attempted to defend his comments by claiming they were taken out of context and meant to honour her contribution.