Following late-night meetings involving the top BJP leadership, the ruling party appears to have decided to stand behind Madhya Pradesh Tribal Affairs Minister Vijay Shah, under fire for his comments on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav indicating his resignation from the cabinet is not on the cards.
The CM said in Bhopal, “All I want to say on this issue is that the honourable court has given its order and our government has followed the decision. We will keep walking on the path set by the court. Congress should ask for the resignation of Siddaramaiah. Most of the Congress ministers have cases against them. The Congress can only make statements. Congress had supported AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal. He was a chief minister who went to jail; where was the Congress at the time? Congress doesn’t have the right to speak on this issue. Nobody has crossed the limits of shamelessness like the Congress party.”
BJP sources said the top brass of the party, including CM Yadav, state president V D Sharma and organisation general secretary Hitanand Sharma, discussed the issue on Wednesday night. “The leaders arrived at a consensus that the High Court has not demanded Shah’s resignation, so there was no need to push for it,” said a senior party functionary.
Senior leaders also said the Congress would try to project Shah stepping down as a win.
“There would be a line of ministers under fire by the Congress. The BJP shouldn’t come under pressure in such a situation,” said a party leader, citing the example of Pragya Thakur’s comments on Mahatma Gandhi.
Another leader said, “There was a consensus that he is a senior tribal leader and removing him could damage the party in the future. It was a statement in poor taste, but he did not mean anything communal…”
On May 12, Shah said at an event in Mau that India taught a lesson to those responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack using “their own sister”. While he did not name any individual, the Congress alleged he was referring to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi.
Shah later sought to clarify the remarks, saying, “Do not see my speech in a different context. I want to tell people that my speech is not in that context. They are our sisters, and they have taken revenge with great strength along with the armed forces.”
The High Court has ordered an FIR and a court-monitored investigation against him.
