Welcoming the Supreme Court directive to compensate a man, whose house was razed in 2019 in Uttar Pradesh for road widening, Samajwadi Party and Congress on Wednesday attacked the state government for "misusing bulldozers".
The opposition parties said officials are taking such action to get themselves "in good books of the government".
Coming down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh authorities for its "high-handed" approach, the apex court has directed it to compensate the man whose house was demolished with Rs 25 lakh.
A three-judge bench, including Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud further asked the UP chief secretary to conduct an inquiry into the illegal demolition in Maharajganj district.
"You can't come with a bulldozer and demolish the house overnight," remarked the bench.
Reacting to the court order, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sharvendra Bikram Singh said, "This practice of bulldozing should stop. People earn and save for their entire life to build a home and demolishing it in an arbitrary manner is a crime. Bulldozers are used to settle scores at local level by BJP leaders misusing official machinery.".
Officers are misusing "bulldozers" against the common man to get themselves in the good books of the government, Singh told PTI.
He also demanded action against officials who were involved in demolition of the house in Maharajganj district. "The maps of houses of such officers should also be checked and they should face similar demolition action too." Congress too welcomed the court's decision and said that ordinary people were worst affected by the UP government's "bulldozer politics".
"Officers taking bulldozers and demolishing houses has become a fashion. It is done only to please the government. When you demolish anyone's house, you also demolish dreams of a family," Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi said.
Terming such demolitions as "criminal", he said those responsible for them should also face action. This "illegal and unlawful" activity should stop immediately, Hindvi added.
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