‘Cruel, shortsighted, strips us of compassion’: Rahul Gandhi on SC order on Delhi-NCR stray dogs

In a post on X, Gandhi said: “The SC’s directive to remove all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR is a step back from decades of humane, science-backed policy.”

“These voiceless souls are not ‘problems’ to be erased. Shelters, sterilisation, vaccination & community care can keep streets safe – without cruelty,” said the Congress MP.

Gandhi said that “blanket removals are cruel, shortsighted, and strip us of compassion”. “We can ensure public safety and animal welfare go hand in hand.”

After Gandhi, Congress general secretary and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also echoed her brother’s views and said that “dogs are the most beautiful, gentle creatures and do not deserve this kind of cruelty”.

“The moving of all the city’s stray dogs to shelters within a matter of weeks is going to result in horrendously inhumane treatment of them. Enough shelters do not even exist to take them on,” said Vadra in a post on X.

“As it is, animals in urban surroundings are subjected to ill treatment and brutality. Surely there is a better way to manage the situation and a humane way can be found in which these innocent animals are looked after and kept safe as well,” she added.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, however, was in disagreement. In a post on X, he stated, “It is not difficult to round up stray dogs and put them in proper dog shelters… Streets must be free and safe for all people, especially children and elderly people.”

MP Karti P Chidambaram responded to a tweet by a Delhi resident on a stray dog in Nizamuddin, saying: “Adopt him. Give him a home. Vaccinate him. Collar him. Leaving him in the streets is not responsible behaviour.”

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale, meanwhile, wrote a letter to the Chief Justice seeking a stay and review, calling the order “arbitrary” and warning against “wanton cruelty” in the name of public safety.

“The issue of stray dog management is serious, but arbitrary judicial orders without a consultative process cannot be the answer… Subjecting defenceless animals to wanton cruelty can never be a solution,” he stated.

NCP spokesperson Anish Gawande also wrote on X, “The Supreme Court order on stray dogs in Delhi is nothing but a death sentence for every single stray on every single street in the national capital – and each one of us needs to raise our voice against it.”

Meanwhile, the BJP has backed the directive, noting it aligns with the party’s long-standing push to remove stray animals — a plan it had been considering since coming to power in Delhi.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had said, “People of Delhi are fed up with stray dogs. The problem has assumed gigantic proportions. The Supreme Court’s directions are important. We want to provide relief to the people.”

Delhi Development Minister Kapil Mishra had said the government’s Animal Husbandry department will work with all agencies to study the order and ensure its proper implementation.

Issuing the directive, the top court on Monday had noted that there was an “extremely grim” situation due to stray dog bites resulting in rabies, particularly among children.

“If any individual or any organisation comes in the way of such force picking up stray dogs and rounding them up, and if it is reported to us, we shall proceed to take strict action against any such resistance which may be offered,” the bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had said.

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