NEW DELHI — The Congress on Friday strongly condemned Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda for his “outrageous” remark claiming that the Indian Army bows at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s feet. Calling the statement an insult to the armed forces, the party has demanded Devda’s immediate dismissal, along with that of MP Minister Vijay Shah, who recently drew flak for his derogatory comments against Muslim Army officer Colonel Sofia Qureshi.
Addressing a press conference today, Congress spokesperson and Chairperson of the Social Media and Digital Platforms, Supriya Shrinate, warned that the nation will not tolerate any insult or humiliation directed at the armed and defence forces.
Demanding the immediate dismissal of the two BJP leaders from the Madhya Pradesh government, Supriya Shrinate said if they are not immediately sacked, “we will be forced to believe that they are enjoying the patronage of the BJP’s top brass including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and these remarks were made with his approval and concurrence.”
The senior Congress leader emphasised that India’s brave defence forces have repeatedly brought Pakistan to its knees and have steadfastly defended the nation, from the scorching heat of Rajasthan’s deserts to the bone-chilling cold of the Siachen Glacier.
She remarked that only BJP leaders could resort to such insulting and blasphemous language against the armed forces. Since they had no contribution in the freedom struggle, she added, they seem to lack any real understanding of, or respect for the sacrifices made by our soldiers.
Asserting that such remarks stem from a petty mindset, she said, a token apology will not work and Devda must be sacked immediately.
Ms Shrinate observed that the entire BJP leadership from Madhya Pradesh to Delhi and the governments at both the places were busy protecting the two leaders.
She pointed out, an FIR was registered against Vijay Shah for his insulting remarks against Col Sofia Qureshi at the instructions of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. But, she added, the MP government still wanted to protect the erring minister as the court observed that the FIR against the minister was such that it wouldn’t stand the scrutiny of law.
Stating that the BJP and its leaders, including the Prime Minister Modi, had hardly any respect for the sacrifices of the soldiers, she pointed out how the PM gave clean chit to the Chinese after 20 of our brave soldiers were martyred at Galwan Heights.
“What to speak of avenging their deaths, Modi gave a clean chit to the Chinese saying no intrusion took place”, she pointed out, while referring to Modi’s remark he made once that “a trader is braver than a soldier”.
Not just that, she added, India had increased trade with India to the extent that the trade deficit with China had reached $100 billion.
