NEW DELHI: Castigated by the
Madhya Pradesh high court
for his distasteful remark on
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi
, state minister
Kunwar Shah
on Wednesday released a video statement apologizing for the remark.Shah's apology came hours after the high court, which took suo motu cognisance of the controversial statement, ordered the police to register an FIR against him. The Madhya Pradesh tribal affairs minister used the "language of gutters," a division bench of justices Atul Shridharan and Anuradha Shukla observed.In the video, Shah said, "I am ashamed and saddened by my recent statement which has hurt the sentiments of every community. I apologize from the bottom of my heart. Our country's 'sister' Sofiya Qureshi ji rose above caste and society while fulfilling her national duty."
The
BJP leader
reiterated that he respects Colonel Qureshi "more than I respect my own sister."He added, "In the recent speech, I said some wrong words due to which today I am ashamed of myself and I apologize to the society and the community. I respect 'sister' Sofiya, I have always respected the armed forces, and today with folded hands, I apologize to everyone from the bottom of my heart."Earlier, the high court bench directed the state Director General of Police to file an FIR against Shah under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The court directed the police to register the FIR by 6 pm, and to inform the bench about it.In a speech which has gone viral, Shah was seen saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent "sister from the terrorists' community" to kill them. He was talking about "Operation Sindoor" of the Indian armed forces, who launched precision strikes against terrorists in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7.Colonel Qureshi, along with foreign secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh gave regular press briefings on Operation Sindoor.
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