Protests erupted at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, the scene of the epic sit-in against the new citizenship law, on Monday with hundreds of people, including women, physically blocking bulldozers and forcing the local municipal authority to abandon an anti-encroachment drive.
As soon as bulldozers rolled into the locality, teeming with police and paramilitary personnel, to pull down alleged illegal structures, hundreds of people gathered on the streets and atop buildings.
Many raised slogans against the authorities and staged sit-ins on the roads, while a woman protester hopped onto a bulldozer, the earthmoving machine that has emerged as a symbol of government power in the recent months.
As a fidgety bulldozer driver nervously moved the machine from one part of the street to another amid the unfolding drama, the authorities called off the proposed demolition ordered by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).
The SDMC has lodged a complaint against AAP MLA from Okhla Amanatullah Khan and his supporters at Shaheen Bagh police station for obstructing the demolition drive and preventing public servants from discharging their duties.
The protesters raised slogans against the BJP-ruled SDMC as well as the Centre and demanded that the action be stopped. Some women protesters even stood in front of the bulldozers to stop them from moving forward.
After SDMC officials reached Shaheen Bagh with bulldozers on Monday morning, some locals started removing "illegal structures" on their own, an official said. TV channels showed people pulling down an iron scaffolding in front of a building.
In December 2019, Shaheen Bagh was the epicentre of protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The sit-in, largely steered by women, was called off in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the city.
The political battle over the proposed demolition drive reached the Supreme Court, which refused to entertain a plea filed by the CPI-M against the exercise, saying it cannot interfere in the matter at the instance of a political party.
A bench of justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai asked the Left party to approach the Delhi High Court instead.
"Why is the CPI(M) filing a petition? What is the fundamental right that is being violated? Not at the behest of political parties. This is not the platform. You go to the high court," the bench said.
SDMC's Central Zone Chairman Rajpal Singh told PTI that illegal structures in the area could not be removed due to the protests.
He, however, added the civic body plans to carry out an anti-encroachment drive near Gurdwara Road at New Friends Colony on Tuesday, while a similar exercise has been chalked out for Meharchand Market in Lodhi Colony near the Sai Baba Mandir and at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium metro station on May 11.
Earlier in the day, leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), including the local MLA Amanatullah Khan, and the Congress reached the spot and staged a dharna.
Khan alleged on Twitter that the municipality planned the drive to "spoil" the environment in Shaheen Bagh.
"A few days back, I visited Okhla assembly constituency and removed the encroachments where I saw them. MCD has reached there (Shaheen Bagh) to spoil the environment of the area in the name of encroachment, but it did not get anything. MCD is requested to inform us and we will remove the encroachments ourselves wherever they exist," Khan said in a tweet in Hindi.
The MLA also released a video message where he said he had inspected the area and found that a temporary bathroom was set up near a mosque which he got removed.
The SDMC has, meanwhile, defended its action, with an official saying that the drive was planned after a thorough inspection.
"It is our duty to remove encroachment wherever it is seen in the city. We were only discharging our duty. We will continue our action against encroachment tomorrow and the day after as per our action plan," the official said.
Later in the day, Delhi BJP Chief Adesh Gupta wrote to SDMC mayor Mukesh Suryan and Delhi Police Commissioner Raskesh Asthana requesting them to register an FIR against the AAP and Congress leaders who obstructed the anti-encroachment drive.
The SDMC's Licensing Inspector for the Central Zone, under which Shaheen Bagh falls, lodged a complaint against AAP MLA Khan and his supporters at Shaheen Bagh police station.
The protests caused traffic snarls at Shaheen Bagh, Kalindi Kunj, Jaitpur, Sarita Vihar and Mathura Road, among other places.
Last month, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) carried out an anti-encroachment drive in the Jahangirpuri area, which witnessed violent Hindu-Muslim clashes on April 16. The action drew widespread criticism and the Supreme Court had to intervene to stop the drive.
Rajpal Singh said removing encroachments is the obligatory function of any municipality. He claimed that the protests were "politically motivated".
Locals alleged the SDMC's drive has instilled fear among them.
"I have never witnessed something like this in my life. Bulldozers were sent but no encroachment was there on the road. I've been staying here with my family. We have never witnessed something like this in this area before," said Iftakar (45), a resident of the locality.
Congress leaders, including Parvez Alam, the media cell vice-chairman of the party's Delhi unit, were among those detained by police.
Delhi BJP chief Gupta slammed the Congress and the AAP for opposing the drive.
"When these terrorists explode bombs in Delhi they don't see the religion of their targets, all become their victims. It is therefore important that both Congress and AAP shouldn't link this whole thing to a religion. One who is a militant and not from our country has no right to anything in Delhi," Gupta asserted.
