The Evening Wrap: Delhi Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam resigns after religious conversion event row

Delhi Cabinet Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam resigned from his post on Sunday, days after attending an event in which around 10,000 people converted to Buddhism in the Capital. The BJP had attacked the minister for “insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses” at the event and demanded that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sack him. Sharing his resignation on twitter, Gautam said that after he participated at the event, he had noticed that the BJP had been targeting Kejriwal and the AAP over his participation which saddened him. “I will continue to work for the party to strengthen India and will follow the teachings of Babasaheb Ambedkar all my life. The BJP has a problem with me following the teaching of Babasaheb Ambedkar and is using this to play dirty politics… I do not wish that due to me my leader Mr. Kejriwal and my party are harmed in anyway,” he said in his resignation letter. The AAP had not officially reacted to his participation in the event. A second term Minister holding the portfolio of Social Welfare, SC, ST and Gurudwara Elections, Gautam is the party’s MLA from northeast Delhi’s Seemapuri Assembly constituency and comes from the Jatav community which has strong traditional ties with Buddhism. A video of the event, which Gautam had attended, had earlier gone viral on social media in which hundreds can be heard taking an oath denouncing Hindu deities. The event was organised by ‘Mission Jai Bheem’, a social organisation founded by Gautam. According to AAP sources, the programme, which is an annual event, was aimed at commemorating the day that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar made 22 vows, which included denouncing Hinduism and its deities, and entered the fold of Buddhism along with lakhs of Dalits in Maharashtra’s Nagpur in October 1956. Several from the BJP, including Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, party’s Delhi unit chief Adesh Gupta, have criticised Gautam, Kejriwal and the AAP following the event. Notably, Gautam said he was “pained at the propaganda” being spread by the BJP and issued a public apology for hurting “religious sentiments”. Trident, rising sun, burning torch are Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s choices for poll symbol The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction submitted its options for an alternate party symbol and name to the Election Commission of India, after the two factions of the party led by Maharashtra’s former CM Thackeray and current CM Eknath Shinde were barred from using the party’s name and the 'bow and arrow' election symbol in the Andheri East Assembly bypoll scheduled for November 3. The Thackeray camp has submitted the trident, the torch and the rising sun as its options for the symbol and ‘Shiv Sena Balasaheb Thackeray’, ‘Shiv Sena Balasaheb Prabhodankar Thackeray’, and ‘Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ as the alternatives to its name. Addressing his supporters via Facebook live, Thackeray said, “The ECI’s decision was unexpected. This is an injustice. I urge the ECI to swiftly give us an interim party symbol and name.” He also criticised the BJP, saying, “The BJP will throw them once the Shinde faction has served its purpose. The symbol is already frozen. Now what else remains? The confusion they (BJP) wanted to sow in our ranks has already been done.” Earlier in the day, Thackeray-camp loyalist MP Arvind Sawant informed about the move to submit alternative names and symbols and also accused the ECI of acting under the BJP’s pressure. “We will never forsake our claim over the bow and arrow symbol. That symbol is rightfully ours,” he said. In an interim order over claims by the rival factions for control of the organisation, the commission asked them to suggest by Monday three different name choices and also as many free symbols for allocation to their respective groups. Jaishankar raises difficulties faced by Indian students in New Zealand with Kiwi leadership External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that he has urged New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta to take a sympathetic view on the difficulties faced by Indian students impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jaishankar, who is in Wellington on his first visit to New Zealand as the External Affairs Minister, said this while interacting with the Indian community during the inauguration of the new Indian High Commission Chancery in Wellington. “None of us had an easy time during COVID. But students perhaps took a bigger hit than most of us. So, I urged the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to take a sympathetic view and understanding of students who enter and I was glad to be assured that they would approach the issue sympathetically,” he said, adding that he hopes to see some progress on the issue. India is the second largest source of international students in New Zealand pursuing higher education in various disciplines such as information technology, hospitality, science, engineering and architecture. Earlier, the EAM had also raised the issue of speeding up the visa process for India students in a meeting with his New Zealand counterpart Mahuta and also sought a “fairer and more sympathetic treatment” towards those who have been impacted by the pandemic. Further, he also spoke about direct air connectivity between India and New Zealand and said that it will be taken care of. “Believe me, one trip to New Zealand, and I understand why you need this,” he said. ‘Muslims use condoms the most, population on decline’: Owaisi responds to RSS chief’s remarks AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that the Muslim population in the country was declining and the community used family planning tool and condoms the most in order to maintain a gap between two children, in response to remarks by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat about “population imbalance”. In a public meeting in Hyderabad, Owaisi said Bhagwat will not mention this, and he should have data before discussing population growths. “Muslims population is not increasing. Don’t have any tension on that. Our population is declining... Muslims’ children TFR (total fertility rate) is declining. You know who is maintaining more spacing between two children? Muslims are maintaining. Who is using condoms the most? This is to inform you that we are using. Mohan Bhagwat will not talk about it,” Owaisi said. Earlier in the week, Bhagwat said that India should have a population policy prepared after comprehensive thought and be applicable to all communities equally, at the RSS Dussehra rally in Nagpur. He also said that community-based population imbalance is an important subject and should not be ignored. Population imbalances lead to changes in geographical boundaries. In his response, Owaisi also said, “I am informing the truth. (Mr. Bhagwat says) Population is increasing.. Where is it increasing Bhagwat saab? You keep data and speak.” Crimea bridge resumes traffic after blast, Russia appoints new Ukraine war commander Traffic resumed over a key bridge linking Russia with Crimea after it was partially destroyed by an explosion that Moscow blamed on a truck bomb. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin told reporters “traffic has been fully restored” on the bridge’s railway, according to state news agency Ria Novosti, without specifying when operations resumed. He confirmed the resumption was for “both freight and passenger traffic” in an earlier post on Telegram, and said one of the destroyed lanes would be restored “in the near future”. Local officials had said earlier in the day that the bridge had been reopened to motor traffic with vehicles subject to stringent screening, while rail operator Grand Service Express said the first trains had left the peninsula for Moscow and St. Petersburg. The 19-kilometre (12-mile) bridge was hit by a blast around dawn on October 8, killing three people, setting several oil tankers ablaze and collapsing two car lanes, Russian investigators said. The explosion drew celebrations from Ukrainians and others on social media, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made no direct mention of it in his nightly address and officials made no claim of responsibility. Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced on the same day the appointment of a new general, Sergei Surovikin, to lead its Ukraine offensive following a series of battlefield setbacks that triggered unprecedented criticism of its army at home. The decision, which — unusually — was made public, comes after growing discontent among the elite over the army’s leadership. Surovikin previously led Russia’s forces in southern Ukraine. He has combat experience in the 1990s conflicts in Tajikistan and Chechnya, as well as, more recently, in Syria. In Brief: India’s net Direct tax collections in 2022-23 have risen to ₹7.45 lakh crore, more than half this year’s Budget targets by October 8, rising 16.3% over the tax inflows during the same period a year ago, the Finance Ministry said. Gross direct tax collections had reached ₹8.98 lakh crore by Saturday, 23.8% more than the corresponding period of 2021-22. After adjusting for refunds, net direct tax revenues now constitute 52.46% of the total Budget Estimates for 2022-23, the ministry said. [logo] The Evening Wrap 09 OCTOBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( [Privacy Info]( Delhi Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam resigns after religious conversion event row Delhi Cabinet Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam [resigned from his post on Sunday]( days after attending an event in which around 10,000 people converted to Buddhism in the Capital. The BJP had attacked the minister for “insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses” at the event and demanded that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sack him. [Delhi Cabinet Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam. File.] Sharing his resignation on twitter, Gautam said that after he participated at the event, he had noticed that the BJP had been targeting Kejriwal and the AAP over his participation which saddened him. “I will continue to work for the party to strengthen India and will follow the teachings of Babasaheb Ambedkar all my life. The BJP has a problem with me following the teaching of Babasaheb Ambedkar and is using this to play dirty politics… I do not wish that due to me my leader Mr. Kejriwal and my party are harmed in anyway,” he said in his resignation letter. The AAP had not officially reacted to his participation in the event. A second term Minister holding the portfolio of Social Welfare, SC, ST and Gurudwara Elections, Gautam is the party’s MLA from northeast Delhi’s Seemapuri Assembly constituency and comes from the Jatav community which has strong traditional ties with Buddhism. A video of the event, which Gautam had attended, had earlier gone viral on social media in which hundreds can be heard taking an oath denouncing Hindu deities. The event was organised by ‘Mission Jai Bheem’, a social organisation founded by Gautam. According to AAP sources, the programme, which is an annual event, was aimed at commemorating the day that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar made 22 vows, which included denouncing Hinduism and its deities, and entered the fold of Buddhism along with lakhs of Dalits in Maharashtra’s Nagpur in October 1956. Several from the BJP, including Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, party’s Delhi unit chief Adesh Gupta, have criticised Gautam, Kejriwal and the AAP following the event. Notably, Gautam said he was “pained at the propaganda” being spread by the BJP and issued a public apology for hurting “religious sentiments”. Trident, rising sun, burning torch are Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s choices for poll symbol The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction [submitted its options for an alternate party symbol and name]( to the Election Commission of India, after the two factions of the party led by Maharashtra’s former CM Thackeray and current CM Eknath Shinde were barred from using the party’s name and the 'bow and arrow' election symbol in the Andheri East Assembly bypoll scheduled for November 3. The Thackeray camp has submitted the trident, the torch and the rising sun as its options for the symbol and ‘Shiv Sena Balasaheb Thackeray’, ‘Shiv Sena Balasaheb Prabhodankar Thackeray’, and ‘Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ as the alternatives to its name. Addressing his supporters via Facebook live, Thackeray said, “The ECI’s decision was unexpected. This is an injustice. I urge the ECI to swiftly give us an interim party symbol and name.” He also criticised the BJP, saying, “The BJP will throw them once the Shinde faction has served its purpose. The symbol is already frozen. Now what else remains? The confusion they (BJP) wanted to sow in our ranks has already been done.” Earlier in the day, Thackeray-camp loyalist MP Arvind Sawant informed about the move to submit alternative names and symbols and also accused the ECI of acting under the BJP’s pressure. “We will never forsake our claim over the bow and arrow symbol. That symbol is rightfully ours,” he said. In an interim order over claims by the rival factions for control of the organisation, the commission asked them to suggest by Monday three different name choices and also as many free symbols for allocation to their respective groups. Jaishankar raises difficulties faced by Indian students in New Zealand with Kiwi leadership External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that [he has urged New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta to take a sympathetic view]( on the difficulties faced by Indian students impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jaishankar, who is in Wellington on his first visit to New Zealand as the External Affairs Minister, said this while interacting with the Indian community during the inauguration of the new Indian High Commission Chancery in Wellington. “None of us had an easy time during COVID. But students perhaps took a bigger hit than most of us. So, I urged the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to take a sympathetic view and understanding of students who enter and I was glad to be assured that they would approach the issue sympathetically,” he said, adding that he hopes to see some progress on the issue. India is the second largest source of international students in New Zealand pursuing higher education in various disciplines such as information technology, hospitality, science, engineering and architecture. Earlier, the EAM had also raised the issue of speeding up the visa process for India students in a meeting with his New Zealand counterpart Mahuta and also sought a “fairer and more sympathetic treatment” towards those who have been impacted by the pandemic. Further, he also spoke about direct air connectivity between India and New Zealand and said that it will be taken care of. “Believe me, one trip to New Zealand, and I understand why you need this,” he said. ‘Muslims use condoms the most, population on decline’: Owaisi responds to RSS chief’s remarks AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi [said that the Muslim population in the country was declining]( and the community used family planning tool and condoms the most in order to maintain a gap between two children, in response to remarks by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat about “population imbalance”. In a public meeting in Hyderabad, Owaisi said Bhagwat will not mention this, and he should have data before discussing population growths. [AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi. File.] “Muslims population is not increasing. Don’t have any tension on that. Our population is declining... Muslims’ children TFR (total fertility rate) is declining. You know who is maintaining more spacing between two children? Muslims are maintaining. Who is using condoms the most? This is to inform you that we are using. Mohan Bhagwat will not talk about it,” Owaisi said. Earlier in the week, Bhagwat said that India should have a population policy prepared after comprehensive thought and be applicable to all communities equally, at the RSS Dussehra rally in Nagpur. He also said that community-based population imbalance is an important subject and should not be ignored. Population imbalances lead to changes in geographical boundaries. In his response, Owaisi also said, “I am informing the truth. (Mr. Bhagwat says) Population is increasing.. Where is it increasing Bhagwat saab? You keep data and speak.” Crimea bridge resumes traffic after blast, Russia appoints new Ukraine war commander Traffic resumed over a [key bridge linking Russia with Crimea after it was partially destroyed]( by an explosion that Moscow blamed on a truck bomb. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin told reporters “traffic has been fully restored” on the bridge’s railway, according to state news agency Ria Novosti, without specifying when operations resumed. He confirmed the resumption was for “both freight and passenger traffic” in an earlier post on Telegram, and said one of the destroyed lanes would be restored “in the near future”. Local officials had said earlier in the day that the bridge had been reopened to motor traffic with vehicles subject to stringent screening, while rail operator Grand Service Express said the first trains had left the peninsula for Moscow and St. Petersburg. The 19-kilometre (12-mile) bridge was hit by a blast around dawn on October 8, killing three people, setting several oil tankers ablaze and collapsing two car lanes, Russian investigators said. The explosion drew celebrations from Ukrainians and others on social media, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made no direct mention of it in his nightly address and officials made no claim of responsibility. Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced on the same day the appointment of a new general, Sergei Surovikin, to lead its Ukraine offensive following a series of battlefield setbacks that triggered unprecedented criticism of its army at home. The decision, which — unusually — was made public, comes after growing discontent among the elite over the army’s leadership. Surovikin previously led Russia’s forces in southern Ukraine. He has combat experience in the 1990s conflicts in Tajikistan and Chechnya, as well as, more recently, in Syria. In Brief: India’s [net Direct tax collections in 2022-23 have risen]( to ₹7.45 lakh crore, more than half this year’s Budget targets by October 8, rising 16.3% over the tax inflows during the same period a year ago, the Finance Ministry said. Gross direct tax collections had reached ₹8.98 lakh crore by Saturday, 23.8% more than the corresponding period of 2021-22. After adjusting for refunds, net direct tax revenues now constitute 52.46% of the total Budget Estimates for 2022-23, the ministry said. Today’s Top Picks [[Explained | Does palaeogenomics explain our origins?] Explained | Does palaeogenomics explain our origins?]( [[Uzhavar Sandhais, the market for farmers] Uzhavar Sandhais, the market for farmers]( [[Watch | Why is the camel fair at Gujarat’s Sanosara special?] Watch | Why is the camel fair at Gujarat’s Sanosara special?]( [[Rajasthan International Folk Festival returns to soothe souls scarred by COVID blues] Rajasthan International Folk Festival returns to soothe souls scarred by COVID blues]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](