Sexist jibes, row over Vidya Balan: MP minister Vijay Shah not new to controversies

Madhya Pradesh tribal affairs minister Vijay Shah, currently facing a huge backlash for his offensive remarks on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, is no stranger to controversies.

The 62-year-old tribal leader has made headlines in the past for all the wrong reasons. He had to resign after allegedly making offensive sexist remarks against former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s wife. Shah was also widely criticised for inviting Bollywood actor Vidya Balan for dinner during a film shoot in the state.

Police have lodged an FIR against the minister over his remarks on Colonel Qureshi as per the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order.

Shah had referred to Colonel Qureshi as the “sister of terrorists” while speaking at a public event in Indore district on Monday.

Also Read: NCW slams derogatory remarks against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi

Jibe against Shivraj’s wife

Shah, in April 2013, was in a spot after making offensive remarks against Shivraj’s wife during a public event in the tribal-dominated Jhabua district. He faced a lot of criticism from inside and outside BJP and was eventually removed as a minister.

Referring to Shah’s removal in the past following his crass remark against the former Chief Minister’s wife, Abhay Tiwari, state Congress general secretary in-charge of media and research, said that now the BJP is silent even after he has made tasteless comments about Colonel Qureshi.

“Now, when he has made a shameless comment on the Army, the BJP is silent. Is this their nationalism?” he asked as quoted by PTI.

Citing the example of a video, in which ex-culture minister and Mhow MLA, Usha Thakur, was seen laughing when Shah made the remark on Colonel Qureshi, Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta asked, “Is this the culture of the BJP?”

Also Read: Col Qureshi remark: HC to monitor probe; SC slams minister but agrees to hear plea

Vidya Balan dinner row

Shah again was in a spot after allegedly inviting actor Vidya Balan for dinner when she was in Madhya Pradesh for a film shoot. “He reportedly invited actor Vidya Balan for dinner during the shooting of the film ‘Sherni’ in Balaghat district. The film star turned down the offer, after which Shah’s department withdrew the permission for the shoot,” Gupta claimed.

Gupta further alleged that a day after Vidya declined the minister’s dinner invitation, vehicles of the film production team were allegedly stopped from entering a forest area for shooting.

Shah denied the allegation, saying he had turned down an invitation for lunch/dinner from those who had taken permission for shooting.

Also Read: MP minister used 'language of gutters' against Col Qureshi, says HC; orders FIR

MP HC slams Shah

Terming his remarks on Colonel Qureshi as “dangerous”, "scurrilous" and as "language of the gutters", the High Court on Wednesday ordered the police to file an FIR against him for promoting enmity and hatred.

The division bench of Justices Atul Shridharan and Anuradha Shukla said the remarks were “disparaging” to the armed forces, which is “perhaps the last institution in the country” that reflects integrity, discipline, sacrifice, selflessness, character, honour, and indomitable courage.

Also Read: 'Ready to apologise 10 times over': MP minister after ‘terrorists’ sister’ remark at Sofiya Qureshi

‘PM should answer’

Meanwhile, state Congress chief Jitu Patwari on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should ask Vijay Shah to resign.

Accusing Shah of having a “similar mentality” to that of the “BJP's troll army”, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said the PM should clarify whether he found the minister's comments appropriate.

In the wake of the severe backlash, Shah had said that if his remarks had hurt anyone, he was ready to apologise 10 times. He also said that he respects Colonel Qureshi more than his sister.

(With input from agencies)