Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan terms Telangana govt’s Khammam demolitions as ‘bulldozer raj’

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the demolition drive in Telangana's Khammam district, calling it bulldozer raj. He alleged that hundreds of Bhoodan houses were razed without notice and accused the Congress of adopting displacement policies similar to BJP-ruled states.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday alleged that the recently reported demolition drive in Telangana’s Khammam district reflects “bulldozer raj” and accused the Congress government there of rendering hundreds of families homeless without prior notice.

In a statement, Vijayan said that after Congress-ruled Karnataka, the “bulldozer raj” has now surfaced in Telangana as well, which he described as a “matter of concern”. Referring to reports from Velugumatla village in Khammam district, he claimed that around 700 houses built on “Bhoodan” land were demolished on February 25 in the early hours, allegedly without issuing any prior notice.

---

He alleged that nearly 3,000 people, who possessed identification documents, were rendered homeless in the drive carried out in the presence of the police.

The Left veteran said the houses demolished were located in Vinoba Nagar and had been allotted to landless families during the Bhoodan movement led by Vinoba Bhave.

He termed it “surprising” that the Congress in Telangana could not accept even the limited objectives of the Bhoodan movement, a land reform movement started in 1951.

The Chief Minister also referred to the alleged victims of a similar demolition action in Yelahanka in Karnataka, stating that they continue to live on the streets.

He sought to know how the Congress could lead and implement what he called “inhuman” measures.

Vijayan further said the Congress leadership in Kerala, which he alleged claims to uphold Left values, should respond to the developments in Telangana.

He also took a swipe at the party over media advertisements issued by the Telangana government in Kerala. Drawing a parallel, Vijayan said that while Kerala set a model of rehabilitation and reconstruction by providing new houses to those who lost everything in landslides, the Telangana government was allegedly classifying even those with land titles as fake patta holders.

According to him, Kerala was granting land titles to those without pattas and making them rightful landowners, whereas Telangana was carrying out evictions.

The Congress governments are proving to be replicas of certain BJP-ruled northern states in adopting a policy of displacement.

Pointing to the alleged incidents in Yelahanka in Karnataka and Khammam in Telangana, Vijayan said they reflected the approach of the Congress towards ordinary people wherever it comes to power.

He further alleged that in the case of the Mundakkai–Chooralmala landslide disaster, the Congress had promised to build hundreds of houses for those who lost everything, but later failed to fulfil the assurance.

The Congress has not yet responded to the allegations.