The opposition charge comes days after the house of a man who allegedly indulged in violence in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district during a protest was demolished.
“The house of Shahzad Ali under Kotwali police station limits was demolished. We had registered a case against 150 people for the violence on Wednesday. We had named 46 people,” an official had said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday took to X and said, “Bulldozer justice is totally unacceptable, it must stop.” Taking a dig at the state government ruled by BJP, the congress leader said, “Governments cannot behave like criminals”.
The Congress leader also accused the state government of taking the law in its hands to punish the accused’s family instead of leaving the courts to decide on the matter.
“If someone is accused of a crime, then only the court can decide his crime and his punishment. But punishing the accused’s family as soon as the accusation is made, taking away the roof from over their heads, not following the law, disobeying the court, demolishing the house of the accused as soon as the accusation is made – this is not justice,” the Congress leader wrote on X.
“This is the height of barbarism and injustice. There should be a difference between the law makers, the law keepers and the law breakers. Governments cannot behave like criminals. Obeying the law, constitution, democracy and humanity is the minimum condition of governance in a civilized society. One who cannot fulfill his duty can neither do good for the society nor for the country,” she added on the post.
‘Using bulldozing as a tactic to instil fear among citizens’
Congress chief Kharge also quickly followed suit and said demolishing someone’s home and making their family homeless is both inhumane and unjust. Kharge then went on to accuse the saffron party of targeting minorities and instil fear among citizens through “state-sponsored coercion”.
“The repeated targeting of minorities in BJP-ruled States is deeply troubling. Such actions have no place in a society governed by the Rule of Law,” he said in a post on X.
“The Congress strongly condemns the BJP State governments for their blatant disregard of the Constitution, using bulldozing as a tactic to instil fear among citizens,” Kharge said.
The Congress leader called the using of Buldozer action as a means to instill “fear among citizens” through the use of state machinery. “Anarchy cannot replace natural justice — offences must be adjudicated in courts, not through State-sponsored coercion,” he said.
On Thursday, August 22, 2024, authorities demolished the house of a man accused of participating in violence during a protest against comments made by seer Ramgiri Maharaj.
The seer allegedly made offensive remarks about Islam during a religious event in Shah Panchale village, located in the Sinnar taluka of Maharashtra’s Nashik district. The protest, organized by members of the Muslim community on Wednesday, turned violent, resulting in injuries to two police officers and damage to several vehicles.
