Religious event row: Delhi Police questions ex-minister Rajendra Pal Gautam
New Delhi (PTI): Former AAP minister Rajendra Pal Gautam on Tuesday appeared before the Delhi Police for questioning over his presence at a religious conversion event where Hindu deities were allegedly denounced, officials said.
He has joined the investigation at the Paharganj Police Station, said a senior police officer.
"I received the notice today (Tuesday) and will cooperate with the police," Gautam told PTI.
"We are those who follow Babasaheb Ambedkar and the Indian Constitution," he said in a tweet in Hindi.
The development comes a day after he was interrogated by police at his residence regarding his presence at the religious conversion event. Later, he was issued a formal notice to appear before officials at the Paharganj Police Station on Tuesday.
According to the notice, on October 5, Gautam attended a programme at the Ambedkar Bhawan where "certain words were uttered publicly, which has infuriated public at large".
"Written complaints have been received in this regard... During the enquiry, presence of your good self is very much essential to decide the further course of action as per law," the notice read.
"Accordingly, you are here by requested/directed to appear in person with all documents at police station Pahar Ganj without fail, otherwise it will be presumed that you have nothing to say or explain anything on your part and matter would be decided as per law," it added.
After being questioned by police on Monday, Gautam had told PTI, "They asked me about the nature of the programme and how it was organised... I follow the law and if I have committed any crime, you can register a case and arrest me. If I have not, you can interrogate me."
"I will feed sweets to the complainant if I am arrested," he had said.
Gautam had resigned from the Delhi Cabinet on Sunday due to the controversy over him attending the event.
The BJP has used the issue to attack AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal during the election campaigning in Gujarat and accused him of being "anti-Hindu".
In a letter shared on Twitter, Gautam said he attended the event in his personal capacity and it had nothing to do with his party or the ministry. He also lashed out at the BJP for targeting Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), alleging the saffron party was doing "dirty politics" on the issue.
Gautam, who was the Minister for Social Welfare, SC and ST, Registrar of Co-operative Societies and Gurdwara Elections, said he is resigning as minister as he does not want his leader or AAP to be in trouble because of him.
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298 persons killed in Wayanad landslides: Govt tells Parliament
New Delhi (PTI): A total of 298 people were killed during the landslides that hit Kerala's Wayanad district last year, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.
Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said that while the Centre does not maintain a central data of deaths/missing persons due to disasters, including landslides, the Kerala government informed it that the total number of deaths due to the landslide in Wayanad was 298.
Out of these, 32 missing persons have been declared as deceased, the minister told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
Asked about the compensation provided by the Centre to the state, Rai said that based on a report of the inter-ministerial central team (IMCT), the central government approved an amount of Rs 153.47 crore, subject to the adjustment of 50 per cent of balance available in the state disaster response fund account, for the landslides, flash flood of 2024.
The amount also includes assistance for the air bills for utilising the services of the Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters for rescue and relief, as per actual, and actual expenditure for the clearance of debris, he said.
Besides, an amount of Rs 388 crore (Rs 291.20 crore central share plus Rs 96.80 crore state share) has been allocated to the Government of Kerala for the financial year 2024-25 in SDRF, he said.
The instalment of Rs 145.60 crore of the central share was released on July 31, 2024.
The second instalment of Rs 145.60 crore of the central share was also released on October 1, 2024 in advance to the state, the minister said.
He added that the Kerala Accountant General reported a balance of Rs 394.99 crore in its SDRF account as on April 1, 2024.
Thus, "sufficient fund" is available in the SDRF account of the state for relief operations, he said.
Rai said Kerala conducted a Post Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA) estimating a total requirement of Rs 2,219 crore for recovery and reconstruction plan.
The landslides destroyed large tracts of three Wayanad villages--Punchirimattom, Chooralmala and Mundakkai--apart from some in Attamala when the disaster struck on July 30 last year.
