NEW DELHI: A video clip of a recent mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism went viral as Hindu deities were denounced at the event here in the presence of AAP leader and Delhi social welfare minister Rajendra Pal Gautam. Coming as it did ahead of state elections in Gujarat and Haryana, the issued acquired political overtones.
With the issue snowballing, Gautam put out a late-night statement to clear the air and apologise. It came after AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal took a dim view of the controversy.
The clip showed Gautam and others taking a pledge saying, “We will not worship Hindu gods and goddesses... I shall have no faith in Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara, nor shall I worship them. I shall have no faith in Rama and Krishna, who are believed to be the incarnation of God, nor shall I worship them.”
In his damage limitation exercise, Gautam claimed, “I personally respect all the gods and the goddesses and would not even dream of insulting any deity through any action or word of mine.” Raj Ratan Ambedkar, the grandson of Bhim Rao Ambedkar and the president of the Buddhist Society of India (BSI), which organised the gathering on Wednesday, was on the dais. At the event at Ambedkar Bhavan, hundreds of Dalit Hindus converted to Buddhism.
BSI treasurer ShashiKant Jadhav told The New Indian Express that the oath was introduced by Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar. However, the BJP went ballistic, claiming the event was an insult to both Hinduism and Buddhism. BJP MP Manoj Tiwari alleged that Gautam was trying to incite riots through the event. Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta on Friday submitted a police complaint against Gautam, alleging he was trying to provoke the public against Hindus and defaming them to trigger riots. Gautam initially tried to brush it all away, but the issue became too hot to handle.