Bulldozer mentality

Bulldozer politics has become the latest topic in India as the machines including excavators are being used to achieve the desired result even at the expense of procedures and justice. The latest outrage was when nine bulldozers rolled into Jahangirpuri on April 20 morning, tearing down several structures close to a mosque as part of an anti-encroachment drive by the BJP-ruled civic body. The ‘surgical strike’ in Jahangirpuri was carried out even without serving prior notice on those to be affected. Many residents were numbed with shock when the bulldozers began tearing down their homes including small shops that were the source of their livelihood. Amid the chaos and mayhem and when everybody seemed to retreat to the backdrop at the sight of a strong posses of Delhi Police, CPI leader Brinda Karat raced to stand in the way of the rampaging bulldozers and waved a copy of the Supreme Court ordering immediate restraint against the bulldozing. As usual, political acrimony immediately follows bulldozer politics and the same was true in Delhi after the Jahangirpuri demolition. The Opposition such as AAP and Congress began accusing the BJP of ‘bulldozing’ democracy. In response, the BJP said that ‘bulldozer justice’ was the right way to move ahead from the communal violence that had earlier broken out in the northwest area of Delhi. The Aam Aadmi Party alleged that the ‘order had been issued’ to harass a community in the name of encroachments, while BJP alleged AAP was giving religious colour to the drive. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha challenged BJP, by saying that the party “promoted riots, violence and hooliganism across India”. Therefore, Chadha said if BJP want end riots in this country forever, “the BJP headquarters should be bulldozed immediately.” Bulldozers are hardy machines and are no respecter of people or positions. This was amplified in Uttar Pradesh when chief minister Yogi Adityanath bulldozed properties in order to “ free up over 67,000 acres of government land from the clutches of land mafia in the state”. Referring to a newsdaily, Akhilesh said the feat earned Yogi, the sobriquet of ‘Bulldozer Baba.’ Not to be left behind, after Yogi’s bulldozing feat, his party colleague and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Chouhan also did his part in his state. On March 22, when a youth died in Raisen district after a clash between two communities, the chief minister ordered demolition of the accused persons’ houses according to News18. The demolition brigade were once again pressed into action when clashes erupted in Khargone district of the state on the occasion of Ram Navami. The rioting in Khargone saw the destruction of more than 50 houses and properties. Of the several houses demolished by the Madhya Pradesh government in Khargone district to punish those responsible for the Ram Navami violence, one was built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).The action has now earned Shivraj Singh Chouhan the nickname of ‘Bulldozer Mama’. In whatever manner they are used, bulldozers should serve their purpose mainly to get rid of encroachments that are deemed illegal and unauthorised by the law. Use of bulldozers to raze homes of suspects extends the purview of the perceived justice beyond the realms of law.