Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav has triggered a political storm by alleging that a BJP Minister targeted Army officer Colonel Sofiya Qureshi because she is Muslim, while sparing Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, assuming she was Rajput.

Yadav made the controversial remarks at a programme in Moradabad, referring to the previous remark by Madhya Pradesh BJP minister Vijay Shah — who allegedly made an insulting remark against Colonel Qureshi. Yadav said, “One of their ministers abused Colonel Qureshi. The high court has ordered a case against him again. But he didn’t know who Vyomika Singh or Air Marshal AK Bharti were. Otherwise, they’d have targeted them too”.

The Samajwadi Party leader then identified Singh and Bharti by caste, saying Singh is a Jatav from Haryana and Bharti is a Yadav from Purnia.

“All three were from PDA (Picchda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak — backwards, Dalits, minorities). One was abused because she was Muslim, another was spared thinking she was Rajput, and the third was not known. Now that it’s in the papers, they’re thinking about what to do”.

Yadav also accused the BJP of prioritising self-glorification over acknowledging the armed forces’ contributions. “When the mentality is bad, instead of speaking about the Army’s achievements, they highlight their own”.

Operation Sindoor, India’s strike on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (POK) in response to the deadly Pahalgam attack, featured briefings from Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri earlier this month.

Yadav also questioned the BJP’s Tiranga Yatra campaign and said, “They do everything for elections. Why take out a Tiranga Yatra now? Were the people fighting in Operation Sindoor BJP people?” news agency PTI quoted Yadav as saying.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came down heavily on Yadav’s remarks, calling them a grave insult to the armed forces.

“The uniform of the army is not seen through ‘casteist glasses’. Every soldier of the Indian Army performs ‘Rashtradharma’ and is not a representative of any caste or religion,” Adityanath said in a post on X.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya also criticised the comment, saying, “The army is beyond caste and religion. The army has only one duty, ‘defence of the country’. Therefore, looking at caste and religion in the army is a ‘low mentality’. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has laid special emphasis on women empowerment in the army as well. Everyone should trust him”.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, too, condemned the statement, drawing a parallel between Yadav’s remarks and those made earlier by a BJP minister. “It is extremely unfair to judge or divide the army on the basis of caste or religion. The mistake that the BJP minister made, the same mistake has been made by this senior SP leader, which is shameful and condemnable,” she said in a post on X.