Madhya Pradesh HC orders case against minister for remark on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi

While trying to praise her contribution, Shah ended up making a comment that linked her religion and gender to terrorism—sparking outrage among opposition parties, veterans, and civil society.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wedesday ordered a criminal case to be registered against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and tribal welfare minister Vijay Shah for remarks widely condemned as communal and offensive towards Indian Army Colonel Sofiya Qureshi.

The controversy erupted following the minister's speech near Indore, when Shah appeared to equate Col Qureshi's role in the military with a communal and gendered insult aimed at Pakistan and its people. The Congress has demanded his immediate removal from the state cabinet, while Mr Shah has since attempted to defuse the situation by offering multiple apologies.

"Those people [terrorists] who had wiped out the sindoor [vermilion] of our sisters in the Pahalgam terror attack... We avenged these 'kate-pite' people by sending their sister to destroy them... PM Modi ji responded by sending the sister of their community in an Army plane to strike them in their houses," Shah had said.

While trying to praise her contribution, Shah ended up making a comment that linked her religion and gender to terrorism—sparking outrage among opposition parties, veterans, and civil society.

The Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives, was cited by Shah as a turning point that justified a strong retaliation. But his comments, framed around religion and gender, were widely slammed as undermining the dignity of an officer serving in the Indian Army.

"A minister of the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh has made a very derogatory, shameful and cheap remark about our brave daughter Colonel Sofiya Qureshi... The terrorists of Pahalgam wanted to divide the country, but the country was united during the entire 'Operation Sindoor' to give a befitting reply," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote in Hindi.

Jitu Patwari, President of the Madhya Pradesh Congress, shared a video of Shah’s speech and said it reflected the “low thinking” and “hate-filled mindset” within BJP ranks.