Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has used the term “bulldozer”, which has entered the government lexicon, to accuse the BJP dispensations of terrorising citizens instead of crushing their problems with the gigantic machine.
Rahul tweeted on Tuesday: “Price rise and unemployment have made people’s life miserable. The Government should run the bulldozer on these problems. But hate and fear are riding the BJP’s bulldozer.”
The comment was made in the context of bulldozers pulling down the houses of people suspected to have thrown stones at a Ram Navami procession in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone district.
Visuals of houses being demolished at several places in Madhya Pradesh have gone viral on social media, raising questions about the propriety and legality of the government’s action as the guilt of the victims hadn’t been proved in court.
The “bulldozer” has dominated political discourse in Uttar Pradesh where chief minister Yogi Adityanath has chosen to deliver instant punishment instead of waiting for the courts to examine charges and pass verdicts. Adityanath hawked this trait as his strongest point and earned the sobriquet of “Bulldozer Baba” even as the legality of such actions was questioned.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan borrowed the coercive tactics from Adityanath to establish his own credentials as a tough administrator.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh criticised the move, asking which legal provision sanctioned such a “bulldozer culture”.
He said in a series of tweets: “I am basically against any punitive action without issuing notice and hearing their responses. Does any law in India sanction this bulldozer culture? Even if you have to run the bulldozer illegally, don’t discriminate on the basis of religion. Is celebrating the birth of Lord Ram by abusing one community and raising provocative slogans justified?
“Did the Khargone administration give permission for a procession with lathi and swords? Will the bulldozers run over houses of all those who threw stones, irrespective of which religion they belonged to? Shivraj ji, don’t forget you have taken oath for running the government without prejudice and bias. India’s Constitution has given the right to every citizen to follow his religion. Any action on the basis of religion is unconstitutional.”
Reports suggested that around 45 properties had been demolished. While the administration defended the action, it gave two reasons — one, the owners were involved in stone throwing; two, they had encroached upon government land. The police said the idea was to “instill fear” and cause financial losses to the offenders.
