Rajendra Pal Gautam, a Delhi cabinet minister, who caused a political storm by attending a recent mass conversion event, resigned from the post, claiming he did it to ensure that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP "are not disadvantaged in any way because of him."
The event had provided ammunition to BJP to target AAP, which declares to be a serious opponent in the next elections in Gujarat. After a video of him criticising Hindu deities while taking an oath at the occasion where 10,000 people converted to Buddhism went viral.
The annual event, called Dhammachakra Pravartan Din, is held to mark Dr BR Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism in 1956 along with millions of his followers. Ambedkar had taken 22 vows, which included denouncing Hindu gods that are repeated during this event.
Adesh Gupta, the leader of the Delhi BJP, filed a police report in this respect, claiming that Gautam's resignation "is a triumph for Hindus and for BJP," which had brought up the matter initially. He said, "Kejriwal forced his minister to leave out of concern that Hindus wouldn't support him in Gujarat. His anti-Hindu attitude has, however, been revealed.
In a letter Gautam has written that on October 5, 2022, he had taken part in the event held at Ambedkar Bhavan in his personal capacity and as a member of the community, which has nothing to do with the AAP or the Delhi cabinet.
He has written that the 22 vows of Dr Ambedkar were repeated at the event by the more than 10,000 people present there, including him. Further he wrote that ‘I have been witnessing that since then, BJP leaders are targeting Kejriwal and AAP, which is very hurtful for me.”
