A heated controversy unfolded in the Rajasthan Assembly late Friday, March 7, after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Gopal Sharma repeatedly shouted “Pakistani” to Congress chief whip and senior leader Rafeek Khan.
The remarks were made during a debate on grants for the urban development and housing and local self-government departments. The BJP MLA’s behaviour towards the veteran politician prompted intense opposition from Congress legislators, leading to chaos in the House.
The dispute began when Khan, representing Adarsh Nagar constituency, started comparing the urban development efforts and achievements during the Congress and BJP governments. As the discussion progressed, Khan made an indirect reference to Gopal Sharma, who represents the Civil Lines constituency, and asked the chairperson Sandeep Sharma to “impart some wisdom to him.”
In response, Sharma interrupted calling Khan a “Pakistani”, dramatically escalating the situation after Congress MLAs took strong objection to the former’s comments.
“What is this? Is this some kind of joke? A man just says whatever he wants,” thundered Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully demanding legal action against Gopal Sharma.
Assembly chairperson Sandeep Sharma intervened angrily and ordered Gopal Sharma to sit down.
BJP leaders stooping to new lows, says Rajasthan LoP
Later, Jully expressed his outrage on X writing, “The comment made by Civil Lines MLA Gopal Sharma on Congress Legislative Party Chief Whip Shri Rafiq Khan is absurd and lowly. 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 road.”
“They forget that Rafiq Khan comes from the land of Shekhawati, where people of all religions join the Indian Army and proudly sacrifice their lives for this country. Assembly Speaker Shri Vasudev Devnani and Leader of the House Shri Bhajanlal Sharma should take cognizance of this and take action against the MLA. Such comments are intolerable and condemnable. The Chief Minister should clarify whether such statements are his confession,” he added.
Rafeek Khan reacts with Urdu couplet
Senior Congress leader Rafeek Khan called Gopal Sharma’s remarks as “unparliamentary language”, expressing his protest with a Jigar Moradabadi’s Urdu couplet: “Unka jo farz hai wo ahl-e-siyasat (politicians) janein. Mera paigham mohabbat hai jahan tak pahunche.”
This closely translates: “The duty is for the politicians to understand, my message is love—may it spread everywhere.”
Extremely shameful, Congress react to BJP leader’s remarks
Former member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly and Congress leader Indira Meena reacted to the BJP MLA’s remarks stating that opposition leaders have a job to question the policies of the government. The BJP is so scared of its failures that it is trying to insult senior Congress leaders.
“Unfortunately, BJP MLA Gopal Sharma made hate remarks against the Chief Whip @RafeekKhanInc
of the Congress Legislature Party during the proceedings of the Assembly. Rafiq Khan Ji has reached the Vidhan Sabha by winning the trust of lakhs of voters. Such cheap words used against him are an insult to the people’s vote. It is the job of the opposition to question the policies of the government. The BJP is so scared of its failures that it is trying to insult Congress leaders”, she wrote on X.
Rajasthan Congress MLA Mukesh Bhakar termed the BJP leader’s remarks as extremely shameful. “The indecent comment made by BJP MLA Gopal Sharma in the House against the opposition whip and Adarsh Nagar MLA Rafiq Khan is extremely shameful. This has always been the behavior, character and face of the BJP. Which is dangerous for the country and society,” he wrote on X.
This is not the first time Sharma has made such rhetoric remarks about Khan. During a session of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation last year, Sharma implied that Khan would turn Jaipur into a “mini-Pakistan” while comparing him to Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Past incidents regarding these allegations have intensified the ongoing protest.
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