Vijay Shah remark row: Congress protests outside Raj Bhavan demanding dismissal of M.P. Minister

Congress protests outside Raj Bhavan demanding dismissal of MP Minister Vijay Shah over inflammatory remarks, BJP awaits court orders.

The Congress on Friday (May 16, 2025) protested outside the Raj Bhavan in Bhopal demanding the dismissal of Madhya Pradesh Minister Vijay Shah over his recent inflammatory remarks on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi even as top BJP leaders maintained that the party will follow court orders in the matter.

A delegation of more than 15 Congress MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar, called on Governor Mangubhai Patel to give him a memorandum and press for their demands. Later, the MLAs in black attires staged a demonstration outside the Governor’s House.

An FIR was filed against Mr. Shah late on May 14 for allegedly calling Colonel Qureshi “sister of the terrorists” of Pahalgam attack, after the Madhya Pradesh High Court took suo moto cognizance of the matter. The court set a four-hour deadline and specified the sections under which the Tribal Affairs Minister was to be booked. However, the next day, the High Court expressed its dissatisfaction over the contents of the FIR. It said the report did not mention Mr. Shah’s May 12 speech which was an evidence, and added that it would monitor the investigation.

Meanwhile, State Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda sparked another controversy on Friday (May 16, 2025) with his statements in Jabalpur that the “entire country, the Army and all the personnel bowed down at the feet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi” in the wake of Operation Sindoor, giving more fodder to the attacking Opposition.

The Congress MLAs were also detained briefly, and a scuffle broke out between them and the police personnel who tried to remove them from the Raj Bhavan.

“BJP is not with the army, nor is it with the Constitution…It is only there with its chair! History is a witness that whenever the government has become dictatorial, the public has made it bite the dust,” Mr. Singhar said on X after his detention.

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari asked why the BJP has not taken any action against its two leaders despite the High Court terming Mr. Shah’s remarks “language of gutters” and Supreme Court calling them “shameful”.