Row over ‘conversion’ event: Rajendra Pal Gautam’s resignation okayed by L-G

At the event on October 5, Gautam, along with those present, had repeated the vows to not worship any Hindu gods or goddesses. The vows were first made by BR Ambedkar when he renounced Hinduism and accepted Buddhism in 1956.

The government is now looking for a replacement for Gautam. According to sources, Kuldeep Kumar, the Kondli MLA, Vishesh Ravi from Karol Bagh and Rakhi Birla from Mongolpuri are frontrunners for a cabinet post.

Kumar was recently in news when he, along with three other AAP MLAs, claimed they have been offered Rs 20 crore by BJP leaders to switch allegiance. Considered close to Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, the Valmiki leader was also in news earlier this year for protesting against MCD’s anti-encroachment drive.

Ravi, a Jatav leader, is from a political family. His father, KC Ravi, was a member of Delhi’s metropolitan council in 1983 and is now a social worker in the Karol Bagh area. In 2017, Ravi was given the award of the best MLA in the Delhi assembly.

Birla already holds the post of the Deputy Speaker in the Delhi Assembly. According to sources, she is also a strong candidate in the running and several party members are in favour of her appointment to the cabinet as the first woman in the AAP government.

Ambedkar’s grandson, former MP Prakash Ambedkar, meanwhile, lambasted AAP over the issue and called it a “fervent supporter of Vedic Hindu religion and an opponent of Buddhist philosophy”. “The Ambedkar family fully supports Rajendra Pal Gautam and urges all Ambedkarites to join him in his efforts to restore dignity to former untouchables by embracing Buddhist philosophy and the path shown by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. The Aam Aadmi Party is no longer secular or supportive of religious tolerance, but rather a fervent supporter of Vedic Hindu religion and an opponent of Buddhist philosophy and Saints Dharma,” he tweeted.

Gautam quit two days after BJP leaders shared videos of him taking Ambedkar’s 22 vows at a ceremony where he claimed that close to 10,000 people converted to Buddhism. Since then, BJP had been demanding his resignation and attacking Kejriwal.

AAP and Kejriwal are yet to respond to the controversy officially.