A heated exchange erupted in the Rajasthan Assembly late Friday after BJP MLA Gopal Sharma repeatedly called MLA and Congress chief whip Rafeek Khan a “Pakistani”. The remarks triggered strong protests from the Opposition led by legislators from the Congress. The incident occurred during a discussion on demand for grants for Urban Development and Housing and the Local Self Government departments when Sharma, representing Civil Lines, Jaipur, made the remarks against Khan, the Congress MLA from Adarsh Nagar in Jaipur. Sharma’s comments came when Khan was comparing the Congress and the BJP governments. Khan, at one point, made an indirect reference to Sharma and asked the chairperson to “impart” some knowledge to him. As the chairperson, Sandeep Sharma, intervened and asked the BJP MLA to sit down, Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully said, “What is this? This is some joke. A man says whatever he wants.” Jully added that it is wrong to hurt someone’s respect and honour in this manner. This is not the first time Sharma has used such language for Khan. Around this time last year, Sharma clashed with Khan during a Board meeting of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, Heritage. During the meeting, he said that he would not let Jaipur become a mini-Pakistan, leading to a scuffle between the councillors of both parties. He later said that Khan was trying to become “Jaipur ka Jinnah”, a reference to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. In the Assembly Friday, Khan responded to Sharma’s barbs with poetry: “Un ka jo farz hai vo ahal-e-siyaasat jaanen, mera paigaam mohabbat hai jahan tak pahunche (the people of politics should know their duty; my message of love should reach wherever it can).” Later, on X, LoP Jully said, "BJP leaders are competing to lower the level of their statements day by day. They do not see any difference between the speeches given in the Assembly and those given on the street… Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani and Leader of the House Bhajan Lal Sharma should take cognisance of this and take action against the MLA. Such comments are intolerable and condemnable. The Chief Minister should clarify whether such statements have his approval."
