Uproar in Gujarat Assembly over Deputy CM Nitin Patel’s remark on Congress

Gandhinagar, March 18

The Gujarat Assembly was adjourned for 10 minutes on Thursday following an uproar over an objectionable remark by Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on the Congress.

Speaker Rajendra Trivedi later expunged the remark.

When the House met again after 10 minutes, a heated debate continued between the BJP and the Congress as Patel sought an apology from the opposition party for “insulting” Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar.

Earlier, during Question Hour before the adjournment, Congress MLA Amit Chavda, who represents Anklav seat of Anand, alleged that Anand district is yet to get its own civil hospital, even as Patel performed its ground-breaking three years back.

Patel, who holds charge of the health department, raised a strong objection, claiming Chavda was lying.

He then made some remark which irked Congress MLAs.

Though Speaker Trivedi expunged the remark, Congress MLAs rushed near the well of the House shouting slogans against the ruling BJP and Patel, and demanded an unconditional apology from the deputy CM.

As chaos and sloganeering from both sides continued despite repeated warnings and requests, the Speaker adjourned the House for 10 minutes.

When the House met again, Leader of the Opposition Paresh Dhanani sought an apology from Patel for his remark.

In his defence, Patel said he was not referring to any person or Amit Chavda when he made the comment.

When the issue settled, BJP’s chief whip Pankaj Desai drew the Speaker’s attention towards an objectionable remark made by Congress MLA Ritwik Makwana on Savarkar during a debate earlier in the day.

Speaker Trivedi took note of the objection and expunged the remark.

He even asked Makwana to prove his claim that Savarkar had worked for the British regime. PTI

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