Shoe attack on AAP MLA by Congress worker sparks political storm in Gujarat

A dramatic incident unfolded in Gujarat’s Jamnagar on December 5 when a shoe was thrown at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Gopal Italia during a public meeting. The accused was later identified as Congress worker Chhatrapalsinh Jadeja.

The incident occurred at an AAP event where several Congress councillors had joined the party. Italia was addressing the gathering when a man seated near the stage suddenly stood up and hurled a shoe at him. Italia shielded himself and escaped unharmed.

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Immediate chaos followed. Some reports suggested AAP workers beat up the man before the police intervened and took him away for treatment. However, Italia claimed the man was brought to the venue by police personnel.

What really happened

Italia said he noticed unusual police movement shortly before the attack. He described the sequence of events during his speech, “When I started speaking, there was no one near the stage. After 15-20 minutes, a large number of police officers suddenly appeared near the stage. Because I have also been in the police force, I was wondering what happened. At that moment, a man from the crowd suddenly stood up and threw a slipper at me. As soon as he threw it, the police rushed to take him away. This clearly means the police brought him in.”

Hours later, a video of Jadeja surfaced in which he claimed he acted out of revenge, referring to the time Italia had thrown a shoe at former Gujarat minister Pradipsinh Jadeja.

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Italia told the media that he did not want to file a complaint and urged political leaders to focus on governance rather than aggression.

Political reactions intensify

Italia said the attack would not deter AAP’s work and called on those in power to behave responsibly.

“The BJP is in power; they have the police, the administration, the entire system. If you want to stop the Aam Aadmi Party, then go and do work for the public. Assaulting us or throwing slippers will not help the people. We are not afraid of such things,” he said.

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AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said the incident reflected panic among political rivals, claiming AAP’s growing popularity in Gujarat had unsettled both the BJP and Congress.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda condemned the act and said the party had no role in it. He said political disagreements should not cross the line into unacceptable behaviour.

As political responses continue across parties, the incident has added another layer of tension to Gujarat’s already heated political atmosphere.

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