Gujarat CM’s bulldozer will roll out against ‘illegal encroachment’, says state minister

Gujarat minister Harsh Sanghavi on Wednesday said that Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s “bulldozer will roll out in the days to come”, claiming that the government had succeeded in removing illegal encroachment from public land, The Indian Express reported.

Sanghavi, the Gujarat minister of state for home affairs, said that in the past two years, “illegal encroachment” had been removed from government land, and that schools and hospitals will be constructed there.

“Bhupendra Patel’s bulldozer will certainly work in the coming days too as illegal encroachment is still present in many cities,” he added.

The statement came nearly a month after the Supreme Court issued guidelines to curb instances of “bulldozer justice”, or punitive demolitions of property. The court said that in cases of demolitions, adequate time must be given to the affected persons to appeal against the action, and that demolitions cannot take place without issuing show cause notices first.

The Supreme Court, however, clarified that the order did not prevent authorities from acting against encroachment on public land.

Sanghavi on Wednesday said that the Gujarat government was determined to fight against cow slaughter, “love jihad” and “land jihad”.

“Love jihad” is a Hindutva conspiracy theory that accuses Muslim men of being part of an organised plot to trick Hindu women into romantic relationships to ultimately...

Read more