Police at the spot where BJP and “Hindu Parishad” supporters held anti-AAP protest in Vadodara, Gujarat.
Vadodara:
Protesting alleged “anti-Hindu” statements by an Aam Aadmi Party leader in Delhi, supporters of the ruling BJP in Gujarat’s Vadodara today tore the party’s banners ahead of a rally by party boss Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, the Chief Ministers of Delhi and Punjab.
The protest and vandalism took place just before 4pm, when the AAP was to hold a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ as part of its campaign in PM Narendra Modi’s home state, which has elections due in December.
ये गुंडागर्दी गुजरात में à¤ाजपा की हार की बौखलाहट दर्शा रही है।#GujaratWithAAPpic.twitter.com/wBfyqVaP8S
— Durgesh Pathak (@ipathak25) October 8, 2022
Senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak tweeted: “This hooliganism shows the BJP’s fear of defeat in Gujarat.”
The protesters pointed towards Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam’s oath at a mass conversion event to Buddhism at which he was among thousands who repeated BR Ambedkar’s 22 vows, which includes denouncing Hindu Gods. Viral video showed one of those being repeated by the gathering: “I shall have no faith in Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh, nor shall I worship them.”
Mr Gautam has refused to back down, citing freedom of religion and saying he only repeated vows taken by the legendary Dalit leader Ambedkar, who converted to Buddhism at such an event in 1956.