The Delhi Police on Monday interrogated Rajendra Pal Gautam, legislator of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), at his residence in connection with a mass religious conversion event held in Delhi last week, the former Delhi minister said.
Arvind Kejrwal, the chief minister, accepted Gautam’s resignation as social welfare minister on Monday. According to the Delhi Police, Gautam has been given notice to reappear before its officials on Tuesday for questioning.
The event at Rani Jhansi Road, where thousands of Hindus converted to Buddhism on October 5, and where they swore an oath renouncing Hindu deities, has drawn a lot of political attention to the Seemapuri legislator.
Shweta Chauhan, the deputy commissioner of police for Central, announced on Monday that Gautam would be called in under section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code on Tuesday. There has not yet been a first information report on the occurrence.
When a court or an official in charge of a police station determines that the production of a document or other relevant evidence is required or desirable for the purposes of an investigation, inquiry, trial, or other process, section 91 of the CrPC is invoked.
Gautham said he hadn’t yet gotten the summons when he was called on Monday night. “On Monday night, a number of Delhi Police officers questioned me at my home over the Ashok Vijay Dashmi event. I assured them that I hadn’t broken any laws. Just now, I recited Dr. BR Ambedkar’s 22 vows. I did not break any laws, and what I did was legal under the Constitution, he added.
At the Ashoka Vijaya Dashami celebrations held at Ambedkar Bhawan on Rani Jhansi Road on October 5, 10,000 Hindus converted to Buddhism. Gautam was there.
A video of the occasion that leaked on Friday showed a saffron-clad monk standing on the dais behind Gautam and giving the crowd an oath. “I won’t believe in Brahma, Vishnu, or Mahesh, and I won’t worship them as deities. I won’t believe in Rama or Krishna, and I won’t worship them. I won’t believe in Gauri, Ganapati, or any other Hindu deities, and I won’t worship them.
Last week, the BJP accused the AAP of encouraging conversions and chastised Gautam for disrespecting Hindu deities. Gautam, however, countered by charging the BJP of “propaganda”. The Delhi administration and the Aam Aadmi Party declined to comment on the situation, but a senior official stated on Friday that Kejriwal was “very angry” with the minister.
The AAP has formally declined to comment on rumours of a cabinet reshuffle. At least three Dalit MLAs are vying for a ministry position, according to a member of the AAP who asked to remain unnamed.