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What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
NEW DELHI: Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Brinda Karat and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi visited violence-hit Jahangirpuri where the North Delhi Municipal Corporation razed several “illegal” shops on Wednesday, with Karat standing in the front of a bulldozer to stop the demolition.
First to visit the area was Karat, who reached there in the afternoon and was seen blocking the path of the bulldozers demolishing the properties categorized as “illegally constructed structures” by the BJP-administered civic body.
She stood in front of a bulldozer in Jahangirpuri’s C Block and waved the copy of a Supreme Court order that put a stay on the drive.
This is how CPM leader Brinda Karat blocked the bulldozers in violence hit #Jahangirpuri on Wednesday afternoon. Captured by @TheNewIndian_in photo journalist @SumitKumar9900 pic.twitter.com/fx6GyGgdRm
— Anand Singh (@Anand_Journ) April 20, 2022
Speaking to the media, she said, “At 10.45 am, the Supreme Court gave a status quo order on the demolition drive in Jahangirpuri after it was mentioned by our advocates.”
“I have with me the court order. I have come here to meet the officers to show them the copy of the order to implement it. The court order is not being implemented.”
Dramatic events unfolded in the area during the tense two-hour standoff as authorities refused to stop its “anti-encroachment drive” despite the court order.
The anti-encroachment drive began at 9.30 am this morning and nine bulldozers rolled into action along with 14 civic teams in the area where communal clashes broke out on Saturday evening during a Hanuman Jayanti procession.
In a letter to the Delhi Police, North Delhi Municipal Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh had asked for 400 policemen to maintain law and order during the exercise.
In the evening, even as the tension prevailed despite heavy police deployment, the AIMIM leader also arrived in Jahangirpuri but was stopped from entering the area.
Speaking to the media, Owaisi said, “This is complete injustice and is an example of vigilante justice. The demolition was carried out without giving notice and shows the biased behaviours of the AAP and BJP governments. Many people have lost everything they possessed.”
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, hours after a controversial demolition drive in violence-hit Jahangirpuri was halted by the Supreme Court.
Shah met with the Delhi BJP leaders for an hour. Besides Gupta, South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri, MLA Ram Bir Bidhuri, and Maninder Singh Sirsa were also present at the meeting.
Gupta had written to the North Delhi Mayor demanding an anti-encroachment drive in the area.
