NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has forwarded the resignation of Rajendra Pal Gautam to Lt Governor VK Saxena, a day after the embattled Minister quit the cabinet, officials said on Monday. Gautam had resigned from CM Kejriwal’s cabinet on Sunday, days after he stoked a controversy by participating in a mass religious conversion event here and subsequently apologised.
“The BJP is doing dirty politics. I do not want my leader Arvind Kejriwal or the party to be in any trouble because of me,” he had said in his resignation letter. A video clip of a mass conversion of Dalits to Buddhism in Delhi that went viral embarrassed the AAP as Hindu deities were denounced in a pledge at the event.
After Kejriwal conveyed his displeasure, apparently because the BJP had weaponised the clip against the AAP in poll-bound Gujarat, Gautam apologised on Friday but changed tack on Sunday. The viral video 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 resignation letter in Hindi, Gautam sought to distance the AAP from the event, saying, “I participated in it on October 5 in my personal capacity.” Rajratana Ambedkar, the great-grandson of Dr B R Ambedkar, read out 22 pledges people take while embracing Buddhism at the event. He and others repeated them, Gautam said.
Meanwhile, Gautam, today exclusively speaking to the New Indian Express, said he tendered his resignation as he was displeased after the controversy and hence took the decision on his own and has not since then spoken to Chief Minister Kejriwal as he was busy campaigning for the Gujarat Assembly polls.
Delhi Police questions ex-minister Gautam
The Delhi Police on Monday questioned former minister Rajendra Pal Gautam over his presence at a religious conversion event where Hindu deities were allegedly denounced, and he will again be quizzed on October 11, senior officials said.
Gautam, however, asked why Delhi Police has not taken action against BJP MP Parvesh Verma over his inflammatory remarks intended to “terrorise’’ the Muslim community. “I was questioned today at 4 pm. They asked me about the nature of the programme and how it was organised...I am a lawyer and if they call me I will go. I follow the law,” he said.