New Delhi: The Supreme Court's decision on contentious 'bulldozer justice' has generated a new debate, with some political leaders across the country applauding the move while others voice concern.
The court slammed the system of “bulldozer justice” and laid down pan-India guidelines on demolition of properties. It said the Executive cannot become a judge by declaring an accused guilty and demolishing his house.
Welcoming the SC verdict, the Samajwadi Party (SP) linked the bulldozer action to the oppression of Muslims, saying that “now the oppression of minorities will stop in Uttar Pradesh.” The party also demanded compensation of Rs. 25 lakh to the victims of the bulldozer action.
“Muslims have mainly been targeted by bulldozer action, with their homes and properties targeted. Initially, it was used against the mafia, but subsequently, the bulldozers were used to label Muslim criminals. There are many examples like Akbarnagar, which is a Muslim-majority area and was completely demolished,” SP National Spokesperson Ameeque Jamei said.
The party also posted X hailing the SC decision and terming the “bulldozer action” as "totally unjust, unfair, unconstitutional, and illegal.”
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati also reacted to the apex court decision and said that the “terror” of bulldozers will end.
“After today's decision of the honourable Supreme Court regarding bulldozer demolitions and the related strict guidelines, it should be expected that UP and other state governments will manage public interest and welfare properly and smoothly, and the terror of bulldozers will definitely end now,” Mayawati posted on X in Hindi.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi also welcomed the SC verdict in his X post, saying, “The #Bulldozer judgement of the Supreme Court is a welcome relief. The most important part of it is not in its eloquence but in the enforceable guidelines. Hopefully, they will prevent state governments from collectively punishing Muslims and other marginalised groups."
He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier celebrated "bulldozer raj," which the SC called "a lawless state of affairs." “We should remember that no less than @narendramodi has celebrated Bulldozer Raj, which SC today called a lawless state of affairs," Owaisi wrote.
Congress Party’s Uttar Pradesh President Ajay Rai said the verdict would end “jungle raj” in the state. Speaking to PTI, he said, “We welcome the apex court's decision. Hopefully, this decision will end the jungle raj in Uttar Pradesh.”
Communist Party of India-Marxists (CPIM) leader Brinda Karat also hailed the SC decision, saying that she wished “it would have come earlier.”
“I welcome the Supreme Court judgement holding bulldozer actions as being illegal and malafide. I only wish the judgement had come earlier, as it would have saved the bulldozing of many, many houses across BJP-led states," she said in a statement.
“But it has come; it has brought justice to those who suffered and to those who would have suffered in the future because of the BJP’s targeting of the poor and particularly of minority communities," she said.
Maharashtra's Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar welcomed the judgement, saying, "This verdict is a slap on those who talk about 'Batenge to Katenge'. This politics was started in Uttar Pradesh. The actions were taken against a particular community and the poor...We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court."
Reaction By BJP And Its Allies
On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) legal cell issued a clarification saying that the government was running bulldozers only on those whose construction and encroachment are illegal. No ban has been imposed by the court on this.
Leader of the BJP's legal cell and Chief Standing Counsel First in the Uttar Pradesh Government, Prashant Singh Atal, said that there was no such order of the Supreme Court that action should not be taken against those who do illegal construction and encroachment.
“The court has only said that all standards should be followed. Nothing should be done against the rules. Lucknow Development Authority can also take action within the rules. No ban has been imposed on it,” he said.
Om Prakash Rajbhar, who is a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, also reacted to the decision, saying, "The whole country welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court; the government welcomes it; the opposition also welcomes it.”
However, he defended the bulldozer action, saying, “The government does not intend to demolish anyone's house.”
“If a criminal has acquired illegal property and built a house on government land, then the land is vacated. The government never demolishes a house built on anyone's private land," Rajbhar, whose party Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party SBSP is an ally of the ruling BJP, added.
In Madhya Pradesh, BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla reacted cautiously to the verdict. "Any direction of the Supreme Court is a kind of order. If a comment has been made on any specific action, then it would be appropriate to speak about it only after knowing," he said.
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