Patna, May 20 (IANS) Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Tuesday strongly condemned the controversial remarks made by Madhya Pradesh Tribal Affairs Minister Vijay Shah against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, stating that had Shah been a member of his party, he would have expelled him for life.

Shah, who described Colonel Qureshi as a “sister of terrorists” during a public address on May 12, has not made any public appearances since May 14, when Madhya Pradesh Police filed a case against him.

Speaking to reporters in Hajipur, Paswan called Shah’s statement “shameful” and unworthy of any public representative.

“No one is above the armed forces. We are all safe because of our security forces. We should bow down to our soldiers to express our gratitude. If someone, be it a Madhya Pradesh Minister, compares our security officials with terrorists, it is shameful,” Paswan said.

“If someone from my party had given such a statement, I would have immediately removed them from the party forever. However, being part of the NDA, I can only suggest to the Madhya Pradesh government to take appropriate action,” he further said.

Reaffirming his faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Paswan said, “I believe that since the Prime Minister is leading the NDA with the resolve of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas,’ we stand by his vision of respecting the armed forces.”

Vijay Shah has been booked under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 152 (acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India), Section 196(1)(b) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, language, or other such criteria), and Section 197(1)(c).

Complying with directions from the Supreme Court, Madhya Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Kailash Makwana constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) late on Monday to probe the matter.

The SIT comprises Inspector General of Police (IG), Sagar Zone, Pramod Verma; Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Special Armed Forces (SAF), Kalyan Chakravarty; and Superintendent of Police, Dindori, Vahini Singh, who also serves with the Special Armed Forces.

IG Pramod Verma is currently posted in the Sagar range, DIG Kalyan Chakravarty is with SAF Bhopal, and Vahini Singh serves as SP, Dindori.

The controversy erupted following Shah’s remarks made in reference to military operations along the Pakistan border, during which he allegedly called Colonel Sofiya Qureshi a “sister of terrorists.”

The statement drew widespread outrage and also prompted courts to take notice and rap him for crass remarks.

–IANS

sd/mr