Ahmedabad: Congress MLA Imran Khedawala, the sole Muslim legislator in the Gujarat Assembly, has sought protection from Speaker Shankar Chaudhary after alleging that members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made insulting remarks against his community during a debate in the House.
The controversy erupted during Question Hour when Khedawala raised a starred question regarding the proposed overbridge between Vishala Circle and Sarkhej Crossroads in Ahmedabad. The bridge, which will pass through Juhapura and Sarkhej, both minority-dominated areas, has been approved by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways at a cost of ₹1,295.39 crore and is expected to be completed by 2027.
During his supplementary question, Khedawala sought clarity on the project’s timeline. Responding to him, Minister of State Jagdish Vishwakarma stated that the completion would depend on encroachments along the road. However, Vishwakarma’s response turned controversial when he claimed that over **700 non-veg lorries, 1,200 rickshaws, 11 garages, and six religious encroachments—all belonging to a particular community—**were obstructing the project. He implied that it was Khedawala’s responsibility to address these encroachments, indirectly linking the issue to his community.
Angered by these remarks, Khedawala protested immediately, raising a Point of Order, stating, “They always talk about a community.” Speaker Shankar Chaudhary intervened and asked him to raise his concerns after Question Hour.
Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar also joined the discussion, stating that if the government was aware of encroachments, it was the ruling party’s responsibility to remove them. Vishwakarma further accused Khedawala of having an unauthorized office in Jamalpur, which was recently demolished, suggesting that the opposition was using such issues to defame the government.
Khedawala rejected the allegations, offering to provide legal documents proving the legitimacy of his office. After Question Hour, he addressed the Speaker, condemning the insulting references to his community and citing a previous instance where BJP MLA Amit Shah linked his community to the 2003 murder of BJP leader Haren Pandya.
Seeking the Speaker’s protection, Khedawala asserted that he raises issues concerning society and the state within constitutional limits and urged an end to personal and communal attacks in the Assembly.
In response, Speaker Shankar Chaudhary advised all members to avoid personal remarks and emphasized that such comments should not be repeated in the future.
