Gujarat Minister of State for Co-operation Jagdish Vishwakarma on Tuesday said that encroachments on government land in Ahmedabad, Dwarka and Somnath were “by people of only one community, with the support of leaders of the community”, in a purported reference to the minority community.He made the remarks in his address during the day-one discussion on the Motion of Thanks for the Governor’s address in the Legislative Assembly.He further said that children born after 2002 in Gujarat do not “even know what curfew and communal riots are”.His remarks drew objections from Congress’s Imran Khedawala, the lone Muslim MLA in the House, who said the minister was targeting the community.Raising the issue of encroachment removal around the Chandola lake and Bhadra area in Ahmedabad, the minister said, “When authorities went to clear the area around the Bhadra Kali mata temple where a yatra will be carried out tomorrow (Wednesday), there were people of only one community (as encroachers). Similarly, in Dwarka there were people of only one community; Somnath, people of only one community. Speaker sir, behind these encroachments, it is the hand of leaders of one community.”The walled city will celebrate its 614th foundation day on Wednesday during which a “Nagardevi yatra” will be carried out for the first time from the Bhadra kali temple which is in the centre of old Ahmedabad.When Congress MLA Imran Khedawala objected to the remarks by the minister, Vishwakarma said he had not named any community. “Only and only one community people are encroaching (government land) in Gujarat. Highest encroachment and highest illegal construction is by only one community,” the minister insisted.Story continues below this adKhedawala said his comments were targeting the Muslim community and demanded a Point of Order, which he was not allowed.Accusing the Congress MLA from Jamalpur Khadia for “not accepting” Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the country’s leader, Vishwakarma said, “Soch aur pani hamesha saaf hona chahiye, Imranbhai. Kharab pani tabiyat bigaad deta hai aur kharab soch jindagi bigaad deti hai (Thoughts and water should always be clean. Poor quality water spoils health and bad thinking spoils life).”Vishwakarma further accused Congress leaders of supporting and funding “RTI activists” who he said “work at the behest and funding of Congress leaders”.The minister then went on to say in the Assembly, “Children born after 2002 in Gujarat do not even know what curfew and communal riots are, that kind of peace, safety and security has been developed in the state of Gujarat today. Even today, Rath Yatra and Muharram are celebrated with communal unity every year.”Khedawala later told The Indian Express, “I will speak against these accusations and targeting of a particular community by the Minister in the House in the coming days. The way they have targeted the Muslim community citing encroachments…is not acceptable at all…The bulldozer policy should not be for one community but everyone equally and alike. He targeted a community, he should apologise. A minister should not be doing this.”Story continues below this adHe further said, “Encroachment on government land is illegal and should be removed but I protest against the demolition of properties under Wakf Board. We object to the recent one by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to widen a road in Gomtipur where a cemetery and dargah were demolished.”As part of major demolition drives, Gujarat government demolished illegal structures from seven Devbhumi Dwarka islands last month. Last year, similar demolition drives were conducted near Somnath Temple.Earlier, on the first day of the Budget Session, Governor Acharya Devvrat also spoke about the Gujarat government removing “more than 5,533 ‘illegal encroachments’ made by criminals” till December last year.While listing out the achievements of the government, during his address, Cooperation Minister Vishwakarma said that when PM Modi first took office as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, his vision and inspiration transformed the politics of Gujarat into the politics of development. “The state government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, is still working firmly towards realising the concept of ‘Developed Gujarat through Developed India’,” he said.