Shaheen Bagh demolition drive halted

Image: Twitter / @alishan_jafri

South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (SDMC) bulldozers returned from Shaheen Bagh area on May 9, without initiating the anti-encroachment drive in face of residents’ vehement protests. According to NDTV, MLA Amantullah Khan intervened and told authorities that all illegal structures have already been removed.

Just as the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) prepared to start its anti-encroachment drive, thousands of people gathered on the streets and sat on bulldozers in defiance of the demolition. Visuals shared on Twitter showed the presence of paramilitary forces while residents block the streets.

The bulldozers were to arrive earlier on May 6 but this was deferred to Monday owing to the unavailability of adequate security forces. Today, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters joined the crowded protests, including AAP MLA from Okhla Amanatullah Khan, reported NDTV. Khan said that there were no illegal structures in the area because he had earlier removed the encroachments.

In April, Delhi BJP Chief Adesh Gupta wrote to the South Delhi Mayor, Mukesh Suryan, about the removal of encroachment by “Rohingyas, Bangladeshis and anti-social elements”. By May, the SDMC has come up with a 10-day action plan to remove encroachment from Shaheen Bagh, Okhla and similar Muslim majority areas, reported NDTV. The first phase of this plan will continue till May 13.

In defiance of this, shopkeepers, residents and political party members gathered at Shaheen Bagh in preparation of the 11 A.M demolition. Dissenters accused the administration of playing into communal politics and specifically targeting Muslim areas. Protesters, speaking to media persons, claimed that the place has been targeted due to the anti-CAA protests in 2019.

Meanwhile, SDMC’s standing committee (central zone) Chairperson Rajpal told a news wire agency that the municipality will remove encroachments from wherever they were.

“Municipality will do its work, our workers and officials are ready, teams and bulldozers have been organised,” he said. Similarly, South Delhi mayor Mukesh Suryan told the media that the people of Delhi support this drive.

Earlier, Jahangirpuri had witnessed a similar demolition drive that was eventually stopped at the behest of a Supreme Court order Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat. However, at the time the bulldozers went ahead with the move the court had to intervene again. The apex court took serious note of this.

According to NDTV, the CPI-M submitted a petition against the Jahangirpuri demolition to also include Shaheen Bagh. Although the matter is to be heard today by the Supreme Court, the party’s lawyer sought an urgent hearing. The CJI asked the lawyer to mention the plea before the bench that is hearing the matter.

The CPI-M in its plea alleged that these demolitions do not follow the due process of law and blindly follow the communal politics worsening in India. Earlier, Dainik Jagran reported that the national capital’s Shaheen Bagh and Okhla may be subject to drives against “illegal constructions” after the excess action in Jahangirpuri. Aside from the ‘bulldozer politics’ popularised since the violence in Khargone, these regions are also victim to the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) accusations of “Rohingya and Bangladeshi infiltrations”.

The ruling regime claims that it is the party’s ‘mission’ to ‘rid’ the city and country of alleged Rohingya and Bangladeshi infiltrators. In turn, AAP leaders deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, MLA Aatishi Marlena, RS MP Raghav Chaddha among others accuse the BJP of “settling Rohingya and Bangladeshis in Jahangirpuri” and similar places. They said that Rohingya and Bangladeshis are then used to fuel communal tension.

Related:

Delhi: ‘Rohingya Bangladeshi’ taunts putting other Muslim dominated areas on the buldozer map?

Delhi: Are the ongoing municipal demolition drives a move to frighten people?

Your silence, in the face of this enormous societal threat, is deafening: CCG to PM

Delhi: ‘Rohingya Bangladeshi’ taunts putting other Muslim dominated areas on the buldozer map?

Evolution of Bulldozer Injustice