Gopal Sharma, BJP MLA from Civil Lines, Jaipur, has established himself as a repeat offender when it comes to anti-Muslim hate speech inside and outside the Rajasthan Assembly. On March 7, 2025, during a state assembly session, Sharma repeatedly referred to Congress chief whip Rafeek Khan as a “Pakistani,” triggering loud protests from the Opposition. 

The remark came while Khan was comparing the performance of BJP and Congress governments. Sharma’s comment was not an accidental slip but a deliberate attack on Khan’s identity, done in the presence of the Assembly chairperson, who had to intervene and ask him to sit down. Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully slammed Sharma, saying, “What is this? Is this some kind of joke? A man just says whatever he wants.” Jully later demanded action against Sharma, writing on X that the BJP was “competing to lower the level of their statements day by day.”

But Sharma’s hate is not new. In 2023, during a Jaipur Municipal Corporation Heritage Board meeting, he openly clashed with Khan, declaring that he would not let Jaipur turn into a “mini-Pakistan.” He went a step further and accused Khan of trying to become “Jaipur ka Jinnah,” directly invoking the founder of Pakistan to vilify a sitting MLA.