AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday criticized the demolition of the house of Shahzad Ali, a man allegedly involved in a protest against a Hindu seer in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district. Owaisi described the incident as “state-sponsored communalism.”
The demolition took place on Thursday, a day after a protest by the Muslim community against anti-Islam remarks made by Ramgiri Maharaj turned violent, leading to stone-pelting and damage to vehicles, which left several policemen injured.
While condemning the violence, Owaisi also condemned the demolition of Ali’s house and his vehicles. “A day after the stone-pelting incident, Ali’s house was demolished even though he claimed he had legal permission for the house. In the absence of valid permission, the local administration should have followed due process of law as directed by the apex court,” Owaisi said in a video statement.
He questioned whether a notice was served to Ali before the demolition and claimed that the Chhatarpur Police paraded some accused and forced them to raise slogans. “A government is run on the rule of law and not based on mob rule. What happened there was the display of the rule of the mob. This bulldozing of the house is state-sponsored communalism,” Owaisi alleged.
Owaisi also criticized Prime Minister Modi, accusing him of “doing drama” by showing respect to the Constitution while BJP governments violate it.
The demolition was also condemned by the Congress party, which questioned the “tendency” of resorting to ‘bulldozer justice.’
