From ex-CM's wife to actor Vidya Balan to Col Qureshi: BJP's Vijay Shah is no stranger to rows

Bhopal: For Madhya Pradesh Tribal Affairs Minister Vijay Shah, currently under fire for his comments aimed at Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, this is not the first time he has been embroiled in a controversy.

In the past, the tribal leader was accused of making offensive comments on former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s wife and kicking up a row with a dinner invite to Bollywood actor Vidya Balan during a film shoot in MP.

On the orders of the MP High Court, police have booked Shah for making objectionable remarks about Col Qureshi, who gained nationwide prominence along with another woman officer, Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, during media briefings on Operation Sindoor.

During a public event in Indore district on Monday, Shah tried to present Col Qureshi as the “sister of terrorists”, prompting the HC to take suo motu cognisance of it.

In April 2013, Shah had made crass remarks on Chouhan’s wife while addressing a public function in the tribal-dominated Jhabua district. The unpalatable comments created a political firestorm and cost him his job as a minister.

Abhay Tiwari, state Congress general secretary in-charge of media and research, said Shah was forced to resign from the MP cabinet in 2013 over his tasteless talk concerning the then CM’s wife.

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

Congress spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta said when Shah was using the “language of gutter”, as mentioned in the HC order, the ex-culture minister and Mhow MLA, Usha Thakur, was seen laughing in a video of the event.

“Is this the culture of the BJP,” he asked.

Shah had triggered another row in November 2020 when he was the forest minister.

“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.

According to media reports, vehicles of the film production team were allegedly stopped from entering a forest area for shooting, a day after the actress declined to join Shah for dinner, Gupta said.

Shah had rubbished the allegations, saying he had turned down an invitation for lunch/dinner from those who took permission for shooting.

The eighth-term MLA from the Harsud (ST) seat has also served as the school education minister.

The 62-year-old tribal leader, popular among voters for doing benevolent work, remained undefeated in the constituency from 1990 to 2023.

However, the latest controversy drew the attention of the high court, which took suo motu cognisance of the matter.

The HC on Wednesday castigated Shah for passing “dangerous”, "scurrilous" remarks and using "language of the gutters" against Colonel Qureshi, and 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.

State Congress chief Jitu Patwari on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should ask Vijay Shah to resign. His party colleague Digvijaya Singh said Shah had a mentality similar to that of the “BJP's troll army”, and the PM should clarify whether he found the minister's comments appropriate.

Amid criticism, Shah has said if anyone is hurt by his statement, he is ready to apologise 10 times, adding that he respects Colonel Qureshi more than his sister.