No one has the right to raze homes sans probe: Gehlot

Targeting the Madhya Pradesh government over demolition of homes of alleged rioters, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said no one has the right to destroy a person’s house without a probe.

Gehlot also said that the country is supposed to run by the rule of law but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was “running bulldozers” instead.

“Running a bulldozer… demolishing houses… What must have happened? Last night I was watching television… I saw how the houses were demolished… people were crying, they were poor people. No one has the right… this right lies only with the law. Let the law do its work. If the rule of law is not there, then everyone will have to suffer,” Gehlot told reporters here.

“Without any investigation, without being found guilty, you go and demolish someone’s house. Even the chief minister and the prime minister do not have this right,” he added.

Authorities in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone city on Monday arrested 84 people and demolished 50 structures owned by men accused of stoking violence during a Ram Navmi procession the day before, triggering allegations that the administration was bypassing legal due process.

“Those who pelted stones and created the ruckus will not be spared and their houses will be turned into ruins. No one will be allowed to create disturbance in the state,” Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra had said. The state government will recover damages from the guilty, he added.

The Rajasthan chief minister claimed that no untoward incident was reported in the state on Ram Navmi.

“There were riots (on Ram Navmi) in many other states and now bulldozers are being run. Where did this disease of running bulldozers come from? If the rulers run bulldozers, where will B R Ambedkar’s rule be, where will his Constitution be?” he said.

Gehlot also hit out at BJP MP Tejasvi Surya for attempting to visit violence-hit Karauli town in Rajasthan on Wednesday, saying “the BJP people work to ignite fire”.

“Why should Tejasvi Surya come here… Whatever happened in Karauli was a very unfortunate incident, we all have condemned it. During that time as well, we had said these (BJP) people do the work of setting fire. Since then, these people are continuously raising the Karauli issue,” he said.

More than 30 people were injured in the violence on April 2 after a bike rally being carried out to mark Hindu new year was pelted with stones in Karauli. More than two dozen people were arrested in this regard.

The rule of law should remain, whether it is Congress, BJP or any other other party which is in power, Gehlot said.

“They should act to protect the Constitution and the law. What can be a greater sin than this that they take oaths and work against the Constitution.. These people are shredding the law and the Constitution and democracy is in danger,” he added.

The people of the country, especially the youth, will have to understand in which direction this country is going or else they will suffer in the coming times, Gehlot said.

“They (BJP) talk about Ambedkar. They never believed in Ambedkar’s life, nor did they accept him. They are making a statue of Sardar Patel, who banned RSS. These people are adopting different tactics to do politics and win elections. If the people of the country do not understand their tactics, then one day everyone will have to pay the price,” he said.

Hitting back, state BJP spokesperson Mukesh Pareek said it is because of the “effective” law and order and its strict implementation that the party formed its government in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

In both states, anyone damaging government or private property is liable to strict action.

Pareek also alleged that the “the attack on the rally (in Karauli) was pre-planned, and because of the failure of government machinery, the violence took place”.