Hyderabad —AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack and prosecute a Union minister who allegedly used a communal slur while referring to Kargil war hero Colonel Mohammed Qureshi at a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh on 15 May, reported the Madhyamam.
“The words he used are scum and filth—they demean not only Col Qureshi but every soldier who has sacrificed for India,” Owaisi told reporters on Saturday. “If the BJP believes in ‘sabka saath, sabka vishwas,’ the minister must be removed from office and arrested under hate-speech laws.”
Late Friday, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court directed police to register an FIR against the minister under IPC Sections 153-A (promoting enmity) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) after a petition by civil-rights activists. Senior police officials confirmed the FIR was filed at Hazratganj police station.
Colonel Mohammed Qureshi, who lost a leg in the 1999 Kargil conflict, called for “strict legal action so no other soldier is insulted for his faith.” Now retired, he runs “Veer Sena Trust,” a rehabilitation programme for disabled veterans.
Opposition leaders from Congress, Samajwadi Party, and the CPI(M) echoed Owaisi’s demand, accusing the BJP of “weaponising communalism.” BJP spokespersons said the party “will study the court order” before commenting.
If convicted, the minister could face up to three years in prison and disqualification from office.
