Brinda Karat stops bulldozers demolishing buildings in Jahangirpuri

After a two-hour standoff over demolishing what is being called 'illegal encrochments' in Jahangirpuri, CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat was seen waving the court order in front of police officers.

After the communal clash following a Hanuma Jayanti procession last week, Jahangirpuri has been put to test by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. The civic body was bulldozing houses and stores under the name of an "anti-encroachment drive". The Supreme Court had issued a stay order after a petitioner flagged the demolition.

However, at 9.30 am this morning, the civic body arrived with nine bulldozers and over 1,500 security personnel including cops. Senior police officer Dependra Pathak said that North Delhi Municipal Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh asked for 400 policemen to maintain order in the area, reported NDTV.

A three-judge bench led by the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana had ordered status quo until the next hearing set tomorrow. But excavators proceeded to pull down shops as officials said they did not yet have the court order in hand. CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat was seen arriving at the site and stopping the demolition.

Around 12 noon, Ms. Karat arrived at the spot with a physical copy of the order and asked the civic staff to stop the demolition instantly. She was seen standing in front of a bulldozer blocking its way. The CPI(M) leader also spoke to a senior police officer and showed the court order.

"We saw the bulldozers just smashing structures. They just bulldozed everything selectively. We had to stop it," she told NDTV.

The petitioner who approached the Supreme Court said that what is happening in Jahangirpuri matches with a disturbing pattern seen in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. All three states have seen demolition drives followed by a communal clash. And one community is always targeted by the civic bodies.

Ms. Karat said that the demolitions were illegal because they were motivated to "uphold a very sectarian, communal agenda of the party in power" and not to uphold the law. She added that the civic body was not just bullying a community but bulldozing the law and the Supreme Court order.

She also said that the civic staff's claim of the court order not being communicated is not correct because it was widely reported in the media.