Demolition of houses belonging to Muslim community patently illegal: NGO Jan Hastakshep

NGO Janhastakshep has strongly condemned the demolition of houses belonging to the Muslim community, terming it ‘patently illegal’ and as ‘disproportionate punitive action against people’ demonstrating to protest the disrespectful and derogatory comments targeting Prophet Mohammed given earlier by the BJP spokespersons.

“While the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath seems ever keen to be the mascot for the most repressive measures against the minorities, the BJP governments in different states seem intent upon imposing ‘Bulldozer Raj’ as the new form of criminal ‘jurisprudence’ unmindful of the due process as laid down by the law and in utter disregard of the ‘human rights’ of the citizens,” it said in a press release.

“That the bulldozers have followed close behind the issuing of notice for removal of 'illegal construction’, circumventing any obligation of producing evidence of illegality in any court of law, clearly exposes the true intent of the BJP government. In the garb of taking action against alleged ‘Illegality’ the Yogi Adityanath government actually seems to be taking revenge upon those who had been closely involved in the anti-CAA-NRC protests,” it added.

“The demolition of the house of Mohammed Javed in Allahabad and the inclusion of the name of Dr Ashish Mittal as instigators of the protests that recently erupted in Allahabad is a clear indicator of the vengeful attitude of the government since both Dr Mittal and Javed had been closely involved in the entirely peaceful CAA-NRC protests that had been organized in Allahabad. It needs also be noted that Dr Mittal who is the general secretary of the All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha (AIKMS) has had a long track record as leader of the progressive doctors’ movement while studying at AIIMS, New Delhi, and had been one of the key leaders in the recently concluded farmers’ movement,” it said.

“It is most unfortunate that the silence of the judiciary in the entire episode has been deafening. We demand that the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India should take suo-moto cognizance in the matter and not only restrain the UP state machinery that seems to have run amok, but also bring the guilty officers to book,” the NGO added.

“Lest a section of the society feels that what is happening today affects only the ‘othered’ minority, we wish to alert the people that what we are witnessing today is nothing but a blueprint for attacking the democratic and human rights of all sections of the people who have to mandatorily rely on their struggles to safeguard their rights,” it said.