UP Bypolls: Following the Supreme Court’s verdict against demolition using bulldozers in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi party chief and former CM Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday took a swipe at the Yogi Adityanath-led government in the state, saying that the apex court has parked the bulldozer in the garage forever.
The Supreme Court’s decision was also welcomed by the UP government, which has been receiving flak from various quarters over its “bulldozer action.” The Yogi Adityanath government also clarified that it was not involved in the case.
While asserting that the apex court’s decision would help curb organized crime and instill a fear of legal consequences among criminals, the state government said that the verdict was part of the case “Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind vs. North Delhi Municipal Corporation and Others.”
Addressing an election rally in Kanpur ahead of the November 20 bypolls in the state, Yadav claimed that homes of the poor were being demolished in the name of bulldozer action.
He further stated that the manner in which bulldozers were used in Ayodhya was the reason behind the BJP’s defeat in the seat in the Lok Sabha elections.
The date for the bypoll to the Milkipur assembly seat in Ayodhya was not announced by the Election Commission. Bypolls to nine other assembly seats in the state are being held on November 20.
At the rally in support of the Samajwadi Party’s Sisamau candidate Nasim Solanki, Yadav said, “The Supreme Court has issued a big order. This will stop the bulldozer action.”
Equating “bulldozer justice” with a lawless state of affairs where might is right, the Supreme Court laid down pan-India guidelines and said no property should be demolished without a prior show cause notice and the affected must be given 15 days to respond.
The executive cannot assume judicial powers to punish citizens by demolishing their properties without following due process, the apex court said while terming such excesses “high-handed and arbitrary” and ruling that they needed to be dealt with the “heavy hand of the law.”
Taking a jibe at the ruling BJP over the verdict, Yadav said, “With the Supreme Court’s decision, the bulldozer has been parked in the garage forever. There can be no bigger comment than what the Supreme Court said.”
“I congratulate and thank the Supreme Court,” Yadav said, adding that courts had imposed fines on the government for bulldozer actions in a few cases.
Polling was necessitated in eight seats where by-elections will be held after their representatives were elected to the Lok Sabha. The Sisamau seat fell vacant following the disqualification of Solanki, who was convicted in a criminal case.
(With PTI Inputs)