New Delhi: CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat on Wednesday termed the demolition drive carried out by the Municipal Corporation in Jahangirpuri area of Delhi “bulldozing the constitution” but maintained a stoic silence over encroachment on government land that had been causing immense inconvenience to the commuters as well as the local resident

The law and the constitution have been bulldozed by these illegal demolitions

“The law and the constitution have been bulldozed by these illegal demolitions,” Karat said as she visited the site where the JCB cranes were demolishing the illegal structures in Jahangirpuri.

Incidentally, the CPI (M) leader stepped in at a time when the JCB was about to demolish the illegal encroachment outside a temple. “The Supreme Court has given the order to maintain the status quo on the demolition drive, I have just come here to implement that order,” Karat told mediapersons.

The anti-encroachment drive began in the violence-hit Jahangirpuri area at around 10.40 am in the morning. The first demolition was of a tobacconist’s shop and then the JCB proceeded further to demolish another juice-cum-tobacco vendor next to it. A double storey scrap dealer’s shop was also razed to the ground.

The residents in the vicinity of the demolition drive could be seen watching from the rooftops and the windows of their houses. While some expressed their resentment over the government’s strict action, a substantial number of locals were supportive of the MCD action which came 4 days after the severe communal clashes when Hanuman Jayanti Shobha Yatra was passing through the area was attacked by the local Muslim residents.