Hans Raj Hans case: Goel, Singh protest; minister hits out at Kejriwal

Union minister Vijay Goel and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh along with some members of the Valmiki community Tuesday staged a protest here over allegations levelled by AAP against BJP's North West Delhi candidate Hans Raj Hans, the minister's office said.

Goel said AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had "falsely accused" Hans of "converting to Islam" and AAP leader Rajendra Pal Gautam had also alleged on social media that Hans is not a Valmiki but a Muslim.

"The AAP leaders have reduced political discourse to the lowest possible level," Goel claimed in a statement issued by his office.

Goel said he would "file a complaint" with the SC/ST Commission.

"This is a big insult to Valmikis as someone who has been a Valmiki since his birth, who had been chairman of Valmiki Safai Karmchari Union and vice-chairman of Valmiki Amritsar Trust, is being called a Muslim by Kejriwal for his vote bank politics," the union minister was quoted as saying in the statement.

Goel and Singh staged a dharna along with hundreds of Valmikis at Maharishi Valmiki Mandir, Panchkuian Road in protest, and he claimed that there was a "resentment" among Valmikis against the AAP because of this allegation.

The Delhi CEO office had issued a notice to Kejriwal after a complaint filed by Hans and senior BJP leader Vijender Gupta over the issue, however, the AAP supremo in his reply had claimed that there was "no violation" of any model code of conduct from his side.