Category: News

The Delhi Police have called former Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam in for an interview today due to the controversy surrounding his attendance at a religious conversion event. At 2:00 PM today, he has been asked to appear for questioning.

At the event in Delhi on Saturday (October 8), where thousands of people converted to Buddhism, the former minister was overheard swearing. His oath stated, “I shall have no faith in Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwara, and shall worship none of them.

The pledge is one of 22 commitments made by Dr. BR Ambedkar that individuals make when converting to Buddhism. Mr. Gautam had earlier stated in his defense that “these are repeated in these events organized every year since 1956.”

Just a day after denying receiving any notice for questioning, he was today seen signing the summons letter that the police had handed to him. “There has been no notification. I provided the information requested when the police came to question me this evening, he told reporters on Monday.

The BJP referred to Rajendra Pal Gautam’s attendance at the event as “religiously divisive” after his oath caused a political controversy. Additionally, it declared Arvind Kejriwal to be “anti-Hindu.”

On the other hand, he claimed that it was a “social and religious event”. According to him, those who were converting to Buddhism were making the traditional 22 commitments laid out by BR Ambedkar. He stated, “These are repeated in these events held each year since 1956.”

 During a Durga Puja immersion procession in the Baldirai neighborhood of this city on Monday night, members of two communities engaged in stone-throwing due to the loud music being played, injuring six people—including a police officer.

According to the Circle Officer of Baldirai Rajaram Chaudhary, the incident happened in the evening as the immersion procession passed by a mosque in the Ibrahimpur neighborhood at the time of “azaan” while DJ music was being played.

He claimed that after the processionists were asked to turn down the noise, tempers flared and stone-throwing broke out between the two sides.

A police team led by Mr. Chaudhary arrived at the scene as soon as they received word of the incident and stabilized the situation.

According to the police officer, at least six people were hurt in the incident, including a police constable, and they were taken to a community health center.

According to police, the incident happened because loud music was being played close to a mosque. (Representational)

Due to the loud music that was playing at the time, members of two communities started throwing stones during a Durga Puja immersion procession in the Baldirai neighborhood of Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on Monday night, injuring six people, among them a police officer.

The incident took place in the evening during “azaan” while DJ music was playing, according to the Circle Officer of Baldirai Rajaram Chaudhary, as the immersion procession passed by a mosque in the Ibrahimpur neighborhood.

Immediately after receiving information about the incident, a police team led by Mr. Chaudhary arrived at the scene and stabilized the situation.

According to the police officer, at least six people were hurt in the incident, including a police constable, and they were taken to a community health center.

According to him, a police force has been sent to the area and things are under control.

Following the incident, district magistrate Ravish Gupta and police superintendent Somen Verma also arrived at the location, according to Mr. Chaudhary.

Rajendra Pal Gautam, the minister of social welfare in Delhi, resigned today in the wake of vehement BJP protests over his attendance at a religious conversion event in Delhi on Friday.

Following his resignation, Mr. Gautam tweeted: “Today is Manyavar Kanshi Ram Saheb’s death anniversary and Maharishi Valmiki ji’s manifestation day. By a strange coincidence, today is also my birthday and I’ve been set free from many bonds. I will now firmly and without boundaries keep fighting for rights and against social injustices.

Given that the BJP used Mr. Gautam’s attendance at the religious conversion event as justification to attack the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which bills itself as the main opposition to the ruling BJP in Gujarat, where assembly elections are set to take place later this year, Mr. Gautam’s resignation is significant.   

After being accused of attending a religious conversion event where Hindu deities were denounced, the AAP minister came under fire from the BJP and sparked criticism for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. At the gathering, hundreds made a commitment to become Buddhists.

The BJP demanded that Mr. Kejriwal fire Mr. Gautam after the incident, and they attacked him for refusing to do so.

Before yesterday’s rally in Vadodara, Gujarat, by Mr. Kejriwal, AAP workers removed anti-AAP posters from the area. All anti-AAP signs and banners that had been erected along the party leader’s route to the rally site were taken down by the workers. Before yesterday’s “Tiranga Rally” in Vadodara, members of the ruling BJP tore AAP banners in protest of Mr. Gautam’s alleged “anti-Hindu” remarks.

In a statement released on Saturday, the Election Commission of India stated that neither of the two Shiv Sena factions, one led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the other by his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, would be allowed to use the party’s “bow and arrow” symbol in the upcoming byelection for the Andheri East assembly segment in Mumbai.

A temporary order was passed by the election panel stating that neither of the two organizations would be allowed to use the Shiv Sena-exclusive election symbol.

The EC added that both groups would go by names of their choosing, which could be connected to the parent party. Additionally, they will receive a variety of election symbols that they can select from an ECI-notified list of free symbols.

The interim order will last until the matter is resolved and covers the purpose of the upcoming by-election. In the byelection scheduled for November 3, the two Sena factions will square off in their first election.

Thackeray claimed on Friday that Shinde was unable to use the “bow and arrow” symbol because the former party strongman and other MLAs who supported him had “voluntarily” left the organization. The poll panel had requested a response from the Thackeray faction regarding the rival Shinde group’s recent claim to the Sena’s “bow and arrow” election symbol in light of the upcoming by-poll.

FAQ

1. Who is the CM of Maharashtra?

Ans. Eknath Shinde 

2. What is the symbol of Shiv Seva?

Ans. Bow and Arrow 

3. When did Thackeray claim that Shinde was unable to use a bow and arrow?

Ans. On Friday 

India said on Friday that the people of Xinjiang’s human rights should be respected, a day after the country chose to abstain on a vote at the UN Human Rights Council protesting China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims.

Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, declared during a press conference that India “remains committed to upholding all human rights. The vote by India is consistent with its steadfast stance that country-specific resolutions are never beneficial. India is in favor of having a dialogue to resolve these issues.

We have taken note of the OHCHR’s assessment of the situation with respect to human rights in the People’s Republic of China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is important to respect and protect the human rights of the residents of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. We anticipate that the appropriate party will handle the situation in a fair and impartial manner, he continued.

India was one of the 11 nations that chose not to vote against China on Thursday in response to allegations that it had violated the human rights of the Uyghur population in the province of Xinjiang.

At the UNHRC, China, Pakistan, and Nepal were among the 19 members who voted against the resolution, which received support from 17 members. India, Brazil, Mexico, and Ukraine were among the eleven members who chose to abstain.

In Xinjiang, China has been repressing Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other primarily Muslim ethnic minorities since 2017, all while claiming to be fighting terrorism. This practice has been extensively documented since that time.

Arindam Bagchi added that the relationship between China and India is abnormal. His words ran counter to Beijing’s envoy’s assertion that conditions along the Line of Actual Control were returning to normal.

China’s military claimed last week that the removal of Chinese and Indian troops from Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs region of eastern Ladakh was helpful in fostering tranquility and peace in the border regions.