On August 14, a bulldozer with a photo of PM Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath was part of the India Independence day parade in New Jersey's Edison, according to media reports. The bulldozer, being a symbol of the demolition of Muslim homes in India, in connection with recent events in India led to a probe by the community members and religious leaders for using it in the parade.
Many residents said they were disappointed at seeing the bulldozer at the parade. They described it as a symbol of a 'brazen display of hate'.
The bulldozer carried photos of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a placard with the words "Baba ka bulldozer' written in Hindi. Baba is often a name used to refer to Yogi Adityanath.
In a statement on Monday, the mayor Samip Joshi said that parading the bulldozer was “a symbol of division and discrimination” while clarifying that the Independence Day parade was not sponsored by the township.
Joshi said his office was committed to celebrating and working in harmony with people from all cultures. “My office will be working with stakeholders to ensure that celebrations in the future serve the best interest of our community,” his statement added.
"The concern we have here as citizens is that they're trying to bring this ideology of hate in Edison", resident Nausher Ahmed said.
Bishop Nikolaos Brown of Ignite Church said that as a resident of Edison, he never expected something like this to occur in the township.
In a report on mycentraljersey, Azra Baig, chair of South Brunswick's Human Relations Commission. was quoted as saying, "This bulldozer was included in a parade that was supposed to celebrate the national pride of this country," Baig said during Monday's Township Council work session meeting.
"As someone who is Muslim, I find this terrorizing and harassing, and so does the Muslim community across New Jersey, across the country and the world", she said.
Councilwoman Magot Harris said she was unaware of the bulldozer and its symbolism. She said the Indian Business Association should be held accountable, for they were responsible for the parade. Councilman Nishith Patel said he was “deeply disturbed by the symbolism” of the bulldozer at the parade.
“The bulldozer represented intolerance of culture, and division, it represented hatred, and I firmly condemned the use of this image in this march. The only thing we should be intolerant of is intolerance itself", Patel said.
For the past few months, BJP state governments in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and civic bodies run by the party have conducted several demolition drives under the guise of removing encroachments. Most demolitions are targeted at properties and businesses owned by Muslims.
As per Indian law, though there are no provisions that give the right to anyone in power to demolish homes, this pattern has been regularly observed in several Indian states.