President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of Aam Aadmi Party leader Rajendra Pal Gautam as Cabinet minister of Delhi government on Tuesday.
The former social welfare minister had resigned from his post days after a video was shared on social media of him attending an event where a group of Hindus vowed to convert to Buddhism.
On October 5, Gautam had attended the event and shared its pictures, saying that 10,000 intellectuals took a pledge to make a caste-free and untouchable India by adopting the Buddhist faith. The event was organised by anti-caste group Mission Jai Bheem during which the participants took oath that they would not pray to Hindu gods and goddesses.
Soon after the video was shared, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party demanded Gautma’s resignation. BJP Lok Sabha MP Manoj Tiwari alleged that the event was an attempt to incite hatred among Hindus and Buddhists.
On October 9, Gautam resigned from the Cabinet post and said that he did not want Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party to suffer any harm due to his actions. He reiterated that he only repeated vows taken by BR Ambedkar, that include a pledge for equality and no faith in deities.
On Tuesday, the notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the president accepted the resignation of Gautam on the advice of the chief minister of Delhi with immediate effect.
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