‘Vadodara demolition done in haste’

Patil said there was no urgency on the part of the Municipal Corporation to demolish it and it should have gone to the communities for an agreement acceptable to all. But then, he added, it would be right to say that ‘‘Gandhinagar was firm in dealing with the situation.’’

‘‘If the structure (to be removed for development of the city) is a few months or years old, its removal does not cause difficulties. But if it is ancient and revered by people from all sections of the society (like the Dargah in Vadodara), its removal has to be done carefully,’’ he said.

‘‘One should not be in a hurry to demolish structures hurting the feeling of people,’’ he said, adding the administration should consider the impact of the action on the people.

Interestingly, cutting across party lines, members did not speak against the the Gujarat government’s decision to remove the unauthorised structure, including places of worship, for widening of roads.

Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said, ‘‘Removing encroachments is fine, but this dargah was 385-year-old… the Municipal Corporation acted in haste.’’

He cited the example of how the Nizam’s College in Hyderabad gave away its land to widen a road around a temple built on the middle of the road.

The BJP, which, for a change, was in full attendance to defend Modi, got into a major altercation with the CPI-M, with both trying to prove each other’s patriotic credentials.