Demolition in Jahangirpuri: After communal flare up, bulldozer politics

She said: “We had a bit of an argument, police said the order had not been uploaded and I said ‘But I’m showing you’… Afterwards, our team met people there and found there were no notices given and that it was completely selective… As far as I’m concerned, all this has nothing to do with legality-illegality but with a sectarian agenda.”

AAP leaders spoke in one voice on the issue.

AAP leaders spoke in one voice on the issue. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the only way to end hooliganism in the country was to bulldoze the BJP headquarters. “The BJP is providing a discourse to the country today to talk only about ladai-jhadga and hooliganism,” Sisodia said, accusing it of going about it “in a scripted way”.

He added: “BJP netas are talking about Rohingya. The BJP must give an estimate of how many Rohingya and Bangladeshis have settled here in the past 8 years and where. Once it says how many Rohingya and Bangladeshis have settled and where, we’ll know where the next riot will happen.”

Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said the BJP had helped settle Bangladeshis and Rohingya in different parts of the country to “use” them to cause riots: “If you want to know where the next riots are going to happen, just ask them to reveal where they have settled Bangladeshis and Rohingya.”

Senior leader and MLA, Atishi, too said the BJP had helped settle Bangladeshis and Rohingya in different parts so that goondagardi can be perpetrated. Both leaders also said it was Home Minister Amit Shah’s house that should be demolished to stop riots.

The BJP and AAP have been trading charges over the communal violence that broke out in Jahangirpuri on Saturday, during a Hanuman Jayanti procession, each claiming that Ansar, one of the main accused, had links with the other.
Sisodia said: “Illegal constructions have been demolished, now the homes of those BJP netas should be demolished who gave protection to them. The BJP has not done anything for schools, hospitals, rising prices… They have only encouraged fighting. If the hooliganism must stop, the easiest way to do it is to bulldoze the BJP headquarters.”

Delhi Congress chief Anil Chaudhary said the anti-encroachment drive was an excuse to poison the discourse among people: “What is the BJP trying to achieve by sending bulldozers to an area where communal tension is rife because of recent violence? It has become clear that BJP and AAP leaders have been found to be involved in these cases and they don’t want peace to prevail.” He also questioned Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s silence.

Manoj Kumar Jha, RJD MP in Rajya Sabha, said targeting of Muslims by the BJP and its affiliates is taking new shape every day. “Today was a very alarming day because terrorising minority citizens by open flouting of the rule of law went on despite a directive to maintain status quo by the SC. We are staring at our municipalities, district administrations being turned into lawless mobsters. Instead of uniting the country to face economic hardships together… the government is turning the nation into a hate-filled, compassionless space.”

Congress communication department head Randeep Surjewala said the government is running bulldozers on constitutional order and rule of law.

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said: “We have seen violence in many states… but what they are doing so cleverly is… somebody is suffering losses in the violence but on social media they will say the other side has suffered losses… If Muslims suffered losses, they will say Hindus suffered losses to provoke people. A dangerous kind of politics is playing out. People of the country… should realise what is the truth. It will not be in the country’s interest if we start thinking only from a religious point of view.”

Gehlot said the Prime Minister should address the nation and say that the government will not tolerate violence and condemn those indulging in it — be it Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian.

The CPI too hit out at the BJP. “The demolition drive in Jahangirpuri is a brazen demolition of our constitutional order. Bulldozing continued even after a stay from none other than the Supreme Court. Bulldozer culture of the BJP-RSS is demolishing the foundations of rule of law. Mass action is the only alternative,” CPI general secretary D Raja said.

Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, meanwhile, was allegedly stopped by police from visiting Jahangirpuri. The AIMIM, in a tweet on Wednesday night, said the leader reached the area.

TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said a six-member team of party MPs, led by her, will visit Jahangirpuri on Friday.