Bhopal, May 17 -- Madhya Pradesh deputy chief minister Jagdish Devda on Friday said the country, its army and soldiers have "bowed down at the feet" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving a befitting reply to Pakistan after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The statement drew strong criticism from the Opposition Congress party, which accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader of "insulting" the armed forces through his "blasphemous and brazenly shameless" remarks. Speaking at a function of civil defence volunteers in Jabalpur, Devda, who is also the state's finance minister, said: "We want to thank the Prime Minister. The entire country, its army and soldiers are 'nat-mastak' (heads bowed down) at his feet. The entire country has bowed down at his feet." Words are not enough to describe the befitting reply Modi has given to the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack, he said, asking the audience to applaud the PM. Devda's remarks come just days after another Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah stoked a massive row by making a controversial remark against Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who was the army's key spokesperson on the armed action by India on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Shah was booked by police over his inflammatory remarks on the directions of the MP high court. Hitting out at Devda, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari said: "While praising PM Narendra Modi, BJP leaders are forgetting the contribution of our forces and insulting our real heroes..." Congress national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate demanded strict action against Devda and Shah for their "vile" comments. "These remarks are brazen and blasphemous, and have stunned the whole nation," she said. The BJP, however, defended Devda and accused the Congress of "distorting" his words. MP BJP media in-charge Ashish Agrawal said: "...Jagdish Devda ji clearly stated that the entire nation salutes the bravery of our soldiers and armed forces who carried out the strike on Pakistan....