Rajasthan: BJP MLA calls Congress legislator Rafeek Khan a ‘Pakistani’ in Assembly

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Gopal Sharma on Friday repeatedly referred to Congress chief whip Rafeek Khan as a “Pakistani” in the Rajasthan Assembly, leading to an uproar in the House, The Indian Express reported.

Sharma used the term during a discussion about grants for the departments of urban development and housing, and local self-government.

Khan, while comparing the previous Congress government’s performance on urban development to that of the current BJP dispensation, indirectly referred to Gopal Sharma, asking Chairperson Sandeep Sharma to “impart some knowledge” to him.

This prompted the BJP legislator to call the Congress leader a “Pakistani”, triggering protests from the Opposition benches.

आज राजस्थान विधानसभा में यूडीएच की अनुदान मॉंग पर चर्चा में हिस्सा लेते हुए अपनी बात रखी।#RajasthanVidhansabha @INCIndia #MLARafeekKhanInc #मुख्यसचेतक #कॉंग्रेस_विधायक_दल #राजस्थान_विधानसभा pic.twitter.com/vzhDkTaCK0— Rafeek Khan (@RafeekKhanInc) March 7, 2025

Khan objected to Sharma’s behavior, further escalating the confrontation, The Times of India reported. Amid the confrontation, the BJP leader also made a reference to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, but withdrew the remarks after the chairperson reminded him that non-members could not be named in the state Assembly.

Other Congress MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully, also criticised Sharma’s comments, prompting the chairperson to intervene and restore order in the house.

Later Jully also spoke about the incident on social media calling Gopal Sharma’s comments “intolerable and condemnable”.

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