THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the name of bulldozer politics, a federal pluralistic, diverse nation has been imprisoned in a unitary centralised framework, CPM politburo member Brinda Karat said on Tuesday.
“In the political dictionary being written by the double engine governments of the BJP, bulldozer politics occupies pride of place,” the said Brinda during a session on ‘Bulldozer politics and the Constitution of India’ held as part of the Kerala Legislature International Book Fair.
“The open declaration by UP CM Yogi Adityanath that houses and properties of those who are accused of ‘anti-national acts’ would be bulldozed is a virtual war against the rights granted by the legal system that an accused is considered innocent unless proven guilty.
Between April and June 2022, Amnesty International reported that in four BJP-ruled states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and UP, as well as in Delhi where the police is under the Union government, authorities carried out 128 demolitions of properties of Muslims affecting 617 families, as ‘punishment’ following incidents of communal clashes,” she said. Brinda alleged that these were not just cruel or barbaric acts of injustice but a planned strategy of Hindutva forces.
“The aim is to use the bulldozer as a weapon in building an overarching Hindutva identity. It is an outright assault on the basic structure of the Constitution. Even today in its advocacy of Sanatana Dharma, it whitewashes the reality of the toxic caste system. The anti- minority aspect of bulldozer politics is reflected in the policy framework of the BJP governments. The bulldozer is standing at the gates of Parliament, Supreme Court and outside of each of our homes,” she said.
Brinda also said the rights of the people of Kerala had been snatched away by the Union government, simply by bulldozing the federal structure of India. “The rights of the states and autonomy have been snatched away,” she said.
“Kerala is being punished as it is a developed state. Your basic income is higher than the rest of the states. You have an educational system which is providing education to the people. Kerala is being punished because you are going to have a social security system,” Brinda said.