Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah on Tuesday apologised for his remark that India had taught a lesson to those responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack by using “their own sister”, The Times of India reported.

While Shah did not name a person, the Congress alleged that the minister was alluding to Colonel Sofia Qureshi, one of the official spokespersons during the Ministry of External Affairs’ media briefings relating to Operation Sindoor.

Speaking at an event in Mahu on Tuesday, Shah said that those who had widowed the daughters of India had been taught a lesson by Prime Minister Narendra Modi “by sending the sister from their own community”. Shah repeated the remark immediately after saying it the first time.

The Opposition criticised the comment made by the Harsud MLA.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Madhya Pradesh minister had “made extremely insulting, shameful and vulgar remarks about our brave daughter” Qureshi, and urged Modi to dismiss Shah.

“The terrorists of Pahalgam wanted to divide the country, but the country was united throughout ‘Operation Sindoor’ in giving a befitting reply to the terrorists,” Kharge said on social media on Tuesday.

The Congress leader alleged that the “mentality of BJP-RSS has always been anti-women”.

He added: “First they trolled the wife of the naval officer martyred in Pahalgam on social media, then harassed the daughter of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and now BJP ministers are making such indecent comments about our braveheart Sofia Qureshi.”

Kharge was referring to social media users posting abusive comments targeting Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and his daughter after he announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to stop the four-day conflict.

Himanshi Narwal, wife of Indian Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, who was killed in the terror attack, had also faced online abuse after she made an appeal for communal harmony.

Shah said on Tuesday that his remark should not be viewed “in a different context”.

“I want to tell people that my speech is not in that context,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying. “They are our sisters, and they have taken revenge with great strength along with the armed forces.”

NDTV quoted him as having said: “Sister Sofia has brought glory to India by rising above caste and religion. She is more respected than our own sister. I salute her for her service to the nation. We cannot even think of insulting her in our dreams.”

Shah said that he was ready to apologise “10 times” if his remark had hurt “society and religion”.

Bharatiya Janata Party Spokesperson Shivam Shukla told The Indian Express that the Congress was “using a slip of tongue” for political gains. “The Congress should not twist such statements made in such an atmosphere for political gains…” the newspaper quoted Shukla as saying.