Fair to assume bulldozer-enabled demolitions aimed at Muslims, poor: Chidambaram

The recent bulldozerenabled demolitions reflect a complete breakdown of law and order and it is fair to assume that this novel method of removing encroachments is aimed at the Muslim community and the poor senior Congress leader and former home minister P Chidambaram said on SundayIn an interview with PTI Chidambaram came down hard on the Jahangirpuri demolitions and those in Madhya Pradeshs Khargone earlier saying the BJP leaders justification of the bulldozerenabled demolitions flies in the face of the lawOn criticism from certain quarters that the Congress delegation was late by a day in visiting the Jahangirpuri demolition site with Opposition leaders such as Brinda Karat and Asaduddin Owaisi reaching there first the former Union minister said I am not aware of who visited when I know that a Congress delegation visited the area shortly after the demolitions were carried out If there was an unexplained delay I regret itWhy do you bring religion into the issue when my concern is the gross and blatant violation of the established legal procedure he said while responding to a question on whether the alleged delay was due to the Congress fear of the BJPs Muslim appeasement chargeAsked if the Congress should push for secularism more aggressively in the face of the soft Hindutva charge against the party Chidambaram said secularism is part of the basic structure of the Constitution and it is a basic foundational value of the CongressIt is not enough to remain secular Everyone must speak the language of secularism and raise a protest when secularism is violated I cannot accept any departure from secularism Chidambaram saidThere is nothing to be gained by straying from the straight path he addedOn bulldozer politics becoming the buzzword in the political lexicon in light of the events in Delhis Jahangirpuri and Madhya Pradeshs Khargone Chidambaram said the BJP leaders justification of bulldozerenabled demolitions flies in the face of the lawIn every municipality or panchayat law there are provisions for gathering information on encroachmentsillegal constructions issuing notice to the person concerned to remove the encroachment giving an opportunity to submit objections passing a reasoned order a provision for an appeal and if the appeal is dismissed issuing another notice before the demolition squad is deployed he saidWas any of these steps complied with in any of the recent demolitions That is why there is no law no order and it is a complete breakdown of law and order Whose house or shop was demolished is not material he assertedOn observations by certain quarters that Muslims were being targeted through such actions he said that based on information in the public domain it appears that most of the houses and shops that were demolished belonged to Muslims and the poorIf that perception is wrong the authorities concerned should publish the correct data As long as the perception remains iquest and is not contradicted iquest it is fair to assume that this novel method of removing encroachments illegal constructions is aimed at the Muslim community and the poor Chidambaram saidBy the way there are whole colonies in which the rich live where many houses are illegal constructions he saidThose who justify the bulldozerenabled demolitions without observing the law are digging a hole into which they may fall in the future the senior Congress leader saidI am not raising the question of secularism I am asking simply does law allow such demolitions If the answer is no that is enough to condemn the demolitions If you ignore the law you do so at your peril he saidAsked about the Aam Aadmi party bringing in Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in the discourse of the Jahangirpuri demolitions Chidambaram said the AAP is becoming adventurous like the BJPI am concerned by the tendency of political parties to see a burning issue as an opportunity to score a political point that has no relevance to the issue at hand he saidThe issues of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have nothing to do with bulldozerenabled demolitions Chidambaram stressedSeveral concrete and temporary structures in Jahangirpuri were brought down last week as part of an antiencroachment drive by the BJPruled North MCD days after the northwest Delhi neighbourhood was rocked by communal violence The Supreme Court had to intervene twice to stop the drive after it took cognisance of a petition filed by Jamiat UlemaeHind against the demolitionA delegation of Congress leaders visited the area on Thursday but were stopped by the police from going to the site where the antiencroachment drive was conducted a day beforeBulldozers razing several structures in violencehit Jahangirpuri during an antiencroachment drive had triggered political sparring with the Opposition alleging it was a demolition of Indias constitutional values and the BJP asserting it was a legal exercise which had nothing to do with religionEarlier this month the Madhya Pradesh government launched a drive in Khargone against illegal properties allegedly belonging to those involved in the stonepelting and other forms of violence that broke out during a Ram Navami procession on April 10Several Muslim religious leaders in the state have alleged that members of the community were being unfairly targeted by the authorities following the violence and houses were demolished in some cases without due processThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever