Joined Congress to save the country, says former AAP minister R.P. Gautam

A lawyer and a social worker from New Delhi, Rajendra Pal Gautam was a minister in the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi from 2015 to 2022, when he resigned after the BJP took offence to a vow he administered to a congregation of 10,000 newly converted Buddhists. This was the same vow B.R. Ambedkar had taken back in the day—that he’d would never worship a Hindu god or goddess. The conversion event apparently incensed the BJP, which used it to target then Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Gautam quit AAP and his seat in the assembly, and cooled his heels for a while, before joining the Congress in 2024. He is a Buddhist activist, runs Mission Jai Bheem and an NGO called ‘Parivartan’. Currently in charge of the SC (scheduled castes) cell of the Congress, Gautam took time off to discuss with Vishwadeepak the twists and turns of his political journey so far. Excerpts:

Your decision to join the Congress surprised many—they expected you to join the BJP. What made you opt for the Congress? You also waited on the sidelines for three years. So, why Congress?

To save the country.

Isn’t that a little dramatic? What are these threats to the country that you believe the Congress can address?

Social justice is threatened. I agree that in this country people have sought political power to amass wealth for themselves and enjoy the perks of power. That is why people tend to join parties in power. I reflected on this trend and the damage it has done to the country. During those three years, I did a comparative study before making my decision.

How was the study conducted? What were the findings?

We debated about which political party is right for the country; which party can take the country forward? Which one is really patriotic? We ruled out regional parties because nationally their influence tends to be marginal. A national party thinks of the nation and make plans before deciding on the best course for implementing them. A national party alone can make its presence felt in Parliament. So, that ruled out regional parties. Then we compared the two national parties, Congress and the BJP.

Modern India stands on the foundation laid by the Congress and Jawaharlal Nehru, aided by other stalwarts, and the scholarship of Dr Ambedkar. Take education for example. Ours was a poor country and yet education was free. Scholarships were provided to SCs, STs, OBCs and the poor to enable them to study engineering, medicine, law and management. They would still be able to save some money out of their scholarship to pay for their clothes.

Now look at the contrast. The country, we are told daily, is soon going to become a $5 trillion economy. Education, however, has become so prohibitive that not just children from SC, ST, OBC classes, even those from the general category are deprived of good education.

It was the Congress which introduced a Tribal Sub-Plan in the 1970s. The plan was to provide adequate funds in the budget to allow the tribal population to develop. And now? The decision to give land to the landless, nationalisation of banks and making it mandatory for banks to lend to the core sectors and the poor were also implemented by Congress governments. Liberalisation of the economy was ushered in by the Congress and during the UPA years the country got laws like the Right to Information, Right to Food Security, MNREGA and Right to Education.

In short, the Congress empowered the common man, the poor, the Dalits and the deprived. Besides, the Congress does not spread hatred and communal politics like the BJP. All this helped me arrive at the decision to join the Congress. 

The Congress was once criticised for being a party of upper castes. Even today, Ambedkarites complain that SC/ST/OBC/minorities do not have adequate representation in the party. Dalit leaders in the Congress were pilloried as ‘Sarkari Dalits’. So, what has changed?

Everything has changed. The politics of the country has changed. The BJP has changed and so has the Congress. Look at the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. He has been on the move, meeting marginal sections of society, spending time with porters, carpenters, farmers, gig workers, students, bankers and loco staff in the Railways. He is raising their concerns wherever he can and certainly in Parliament. He has actually been on the road for the past several years. BJP leaders used to call him shehzada (prince) but they themselves wear suits and shawls that cost millions, expensive glasses, watches; they travel abroad, send their children abroad to study and yet feel free to mock Rahul Gandhi.

Today, it is Rahul Gandhi alone who is fighting for social justice. The Congress, too, is a different Congress today, and those who have an open mind can see it.

You were a minister in Arvind Kejriwal’s ministry and Kejriwal proudly flaunted only two portraits in his office—one of Ambedkar and the other of Bhagat Singh. Would you say he was less committed to social justice?

Bhagat Singh was an atheist. Now, nobody expected Kejriwal to be an atheist but when he showed that he was completely immersed in just one religion and promoted it, where was the difference between him and the BJP? Kejriwal did put up the portrait of Dr Ambedkar but he put a stop to all the schemes meant for the welfare of SC/ST/minorities and Dalits. Even the schemes initiated by me were shut down—scholarships, the Delhi SC/ST/OBC/Minorities and Handicapped Financial and Development Corporation and the Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana etc.

You are in charge of the SC cell of the Congress. Dalit loyalties are said to be divided. How difficult is the challenge you face?

Yes, our challenge is to sensitise Dalits about their rights, the importance of a caste census and social justice and how their rights and dignity are being trampled upon. We have to ensure their representation and participation. We have to carry the record of the Congress to them and make them aware of why education and healthcare have become so prohibitive. We are in the process of forming district committees across the country. I agree that we have a lot to do and a lot of ground to cover.

Let’s focus for a bit on Uttar Pradesh. At least three leaders are wooing the Dalits in the state. Besides the BJP and BSP, Chandrashekhar Azad and Akhilesh Yadav too are busy wooing Dalits. What chance does the Congress have?

Mayawatiji has been a great leader and a good administrator. I have great respect for her. But her era is over. She can no longer identify the concerns of the Dalits, put pressure on the government and get the work done. Only a party serious about the people’s concerns and committed to addressing them will succeed.

As far as Azad is concerned, I am not unduly perturbed by him. Yes, he won a parliamentary election but only time will tell how far he will go, who are behind him and funding him. Some things are now in the public domain and more will be known sooner than later. As for Akhilesh Yadavji, I think well of him. I once discussed Dalit politics and the concerns of Dalits with him for two hours. But when it comes to implementation of ideas, he tends to slip. He also tends to ride in two boats at the same time. This may have worked earlier but won’t any longer.

How do you deal with the BJP, which claims it has already accepted the caste census? The prime minister, of course, never tires of reminding people that he belongs to the OBC. The BJP also makes claims about adequate representation in the party to SCs/ STs/ OBCs…

Modiji is a puppet following a script given to him by someone else. What’s more, he must tell people what he has done for the OBCs. In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has been in power for 20 years, but while the OBC population in the state is 56 per cent, OBC reservation is only 17 per cent. The OBC Mahasabha is tired of protesting, but cannot get a response from him.

In Uttar Pradesh too, the situation is similar. Out of 68,000 posts in the government reserved for OBCs and Dalits, these people have usurped 8,000 posts. The youth from OBC/SC/ST communities in the state have been agitating for the past two years and yet the ‘OBC PM’ cannot hear their cries?

One last question about Dalit votes in poll-bound Bihar. Rahul Gandhi has visited the state six times this year and the Congress has installed a Dalit as state president. But Dalit votes in the state are said to be divided among various other parties. Where do you think the Congress stands in the state?

We can see positive vibes among Dalits for both Rahulji and the Congress. Once they are convinced that the Congress will be part of a ruling coalition in the state, we believe, it will not take long for them to join us. Our effort is to connect with every section of Dalits and give them responsibilities. They must feel they are partners in our journey. A lot of work is going on and I must admit that if the Congress had done this 20 years ago, it would never have gone out of power. But better late than never!