The Uttar Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has been using bulldozers to demolish illegal encroachments across the state, regardless of the religion or political affiliation of the encroachers. The state government has been clear in its stance that criminals have no religion or caste, and that illegal activities will not be tolerated.
The use of bulldozers to remove illegal encroachments has not been limited to opposition leaders or those of a particular religion. In fact, bulldozers have been used on the houses and illegal encroachments of leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well.
In March 2022, a bulldozer was used to remove the illegal encroachment on the land of a pond in Kanpur, which was being illegally occupied by land mafia Vishnu Kumar Yadav alias Pangu Yadav. In April 2022, a bulldozer was used on the house of Police Inspector Jagat Narayan Singh, who was lodged in Tihar Jail in the Manish Gupta murder case in Lucknow.
In June 2022, bulldozers were used to remove the illegal colony of former BJP MLA Kesar Singh Gangwar in Bareilly. In July 2022, a bulldozer was used on the illegal marriage ceremony of former BJP leader Yogesh Patel in Bareilly. In August 2022, the Varanasi Development Authority demolished the illegal construction on the land of BJP District Vice President Akhand Singh in Varanasi.
Also in August 2022, a bulldozer was used on the encroachment of BJP leader Shrikant Tyagi, who had misbehaved with a woman in a society in Noida. In November 2022, illegal constructions were demolished by running bulldozers on more than one and a half dozen houses built on the government pond in Pasai village of Dhina police station area of Chandauli. Houses of people from different castes and religions, including Rajnath Rajbhar, Narendra Rajbhar, Ashok Kharwar, Sarangdhar Dubey, Ramesh Kharwar, Harvansh Gond, Mithai Kharwar, Lalta Rajbhar, Ramjanm Rajbhar, Kamla Devi, Santu Rajbhar, Achchhe Lal Kharwar, Lahari Kharwar, Kedar Singh, Dinesh Singh, Sadan Yadav, Ajit Singh, and Gama Yadav were demolished.
Most recently, in January 2023, a bulldozer was used to demolish the illegal construction of the house of Vikram Jain Bajaj, District Vice President of BJP Minority Morcha and former Mandal President in Lalitpur’s Madawara.
The actions of the UP government to remove illegal encroachments have been commendable and have sent a strong message to those who engage in such activities. The government’s stance that criminals have no religion or caste is a welcome change from the divisive politics that has been rampant in the state for decades. It is a positive step towards creating a more just and equitable society for all citizens of Uttar Pradesh.