Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The BJP's central leadership will take a decision on Vijay Shah, who courted controversy by making undesirable comments on Colonel Sophia Qureshi.
The High Court and the Supreme Court are criticising Shah, and the apex court directed the government to submit a report in four weeks. But the state government has yet to give permission to SIT to prosecute Shah.
According to sources, the government does not want to give permission for prosecuting its minister. As soon as the government gives permission for prosecution, pressure will mount on Shah to quit cabinet.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and BJP's state unit president Hemant Khandelwal will speak to the party's central leadership to find a solution.
The BJP is afraid of giving permission for his prosecution because Shah belongs to a tribal community, and his ouster from the cabinet will have an impact on the party's vote bank. This is the reason why the government has been delaying the case for one year.
According to sources, the preliminary reports of SIT indicated that Shah made undesirable comments on Colonel Qureshi.
In the SIT reports, it was clear that the video of Shah, which went viral, was not AI-generated but original.
On the basis of the video, the SIT sought permission to prosecute Shah under section 196(1)(a) of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita.
But in its preliminary reports, SIT made it clear nobody had lodged any complaint against Shah.
During its two hearings, the apex court clearly said it was not happy with the steps taken by the state government and the arguments put up on behalf of Shah.
