Congress MLA from Ahmedabad’s Jamalpur constituency Imran Khedawala – the only Muslim legislator in Gujarat Assembly – on Monday sought protection from the Speaker against alleged “insulting” references made towards him by members of the ruling BJP while referring to him as a person “from a specific community”.
Following this, Speaker Shankar Chaudhary advised all the members of the House to refrain from making personal references.
The issue cropped up during the Question Hour when a starred question raised by Khedawala was taken up for discussion. The legislator had sought to know the details related to the proposed overbridge between Vishala Circle and Sarkhej Crossroads in Ahmedabad city. The road passes through minority dominated Juhapura and Sarkhej areas of the city.
The government replied that the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved the overbridge at the cost of Rs 1,295.39 crore and its work is expected to be over by 2027 after getting necessary approvals.
In his supplementary question, Khedawala sought to know when work on the bridge will be commenced and completed.
In reply, Minister of State Jagdish Vishwakarma said that initiating the work and its completion depends on a number of factors, including the number of encroachments on the road.
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