Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah acquired inadvertent and sudden assist from the Opposition over the demolition of 150 shacks in Bengaluru, giving the 77-year-old chief minister a reprieve after harsh criticism from the Congress excessive command.
Karnataka’s principal opposition social gathering, the Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP), has inadvertently shielded Mr. Siddaramaiah from the wrath of his personal social gathering, intensifying the management tussle inside the Karnataka Congress.
“Who’s Venugopal (KC) to intervene in Karnataka’s affairs? He could also be a member of Congress or a member of your social gathering. However how can he intervene right here?” Chalavadi Narayaswamy, Chief of Opposition in Karnataka Higher Home, informed reporters on Monday.
Narayanaswamy additionally questioned the motive behind Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s concentrating on of the Karnataka authorities over the demolition of shacks in Bengaluru’s Kogil space.
“If there’s a functioning authorities right here, what’s the job of one other authorities right here (Kerala)?” he requested.
On December 20, Bengaluru native authorities demolished over 150 “unlawful” homes in Fakir Colony and Waseem Structure, saying the websites had been rubbish dumps.
Shortly after, Vijayan posted on X, “The expulsion of Muslim households who had lived there for a few years exposes the brutal normalization of the ‘Bulldozer Raj’ and the anti-minority politics of the Sangh Parivar is now being carried out beneath the Congress authorities in Karnataka.”
Because the demolition in Bengaluru, the Karnataka Congress has come beneath criticism from numerous quarters, together with the Congress’ personal excessive command, which has slammed the “bulldozer justice” popularized by UP CM Yogi Adityanath, wherein extrajudicial means are used to demolish the houses of individuals the regime believes are behind riots and different “unlawful actions”.
“Kerala CM is doing political actions… This can be a native problem so I’ve requested him to remain away. Now we have to make sure safety to stop well being hazards. We don’t want unlawful folks occupying authorities property,” Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar informed reporters on Monday. He additionally visited a demolition website in Bangalore.
The BJP has attacked each the Congress social gathering and the Kerala authorities. Meeting elections are simply across the nook in Kerala and the Congress is attempting to stay as much as expectations with out jeopardizing its prospects within the poll-bound state. Nonetheless, within the course of, it prompted a sequence response.
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“Bulldozer Justice”
Curiously, the primary allegation of ‘bulldozer justice’ towards the Karnataka Congress got here from senior Congress chief P. Chidambaram on December 12.
Chidambaram stated he was “alarmed” by Karnataka House Minister G. Parameshwara’s assertion that he would use bulldozers to demolish drug sellers’ homes.
“The SC has declared the regulation. Demolishing a home with out due strategy of regulation is unlawful and can violate the elemental rights and human rights of different family members. Furthermore, the Congress social gathering’s view is that the ‘bulldozer justice’ being practiced in UP is mistaken, unlawful and unjust. Congress-ruled states like Karnataka mustn’t comply with the unlawful path of UP…” he stated.
I’m alarmed by the Karnataka House Minister’s reported assertion that bulldozers could also be used to demolish the homes of drug traffickers.
I hope that report is mistaken
The SC declared the regulation. Demolishing a house with out due authorized course of is unlawful and…
— P. Chidambaram (@PCidambaram_IN) December 12, 2025
Just a few days later, the Karnataka authorities carried out the destruction of Kogil in Bengaluru, additional escalating the talk.
Initially, the Bharatiya Janata Occasion didn’t react as a lot of the shack residents had been from minority communities.
Nonetheless, the submit by Congress Nationwide Secretary (Group) KCVenugopal has sparked a political controversy that has now unfold from the capital to 2 southern states.
Venugopal, a local of Kerala, stated in a submit that the excessive command had expressed “severe issues that such an motion ought to have been taken with larger care, consideration and compassion” and that efforts had been underway to rehabilitate these affected in Bengaluru.
I spoke to the Karnataka CM. @siddaramaiah and DCM @DKShivakumar Regarding the demolition of unauthorized constructions in Kogil village, Bangalore.
conveyed the AICC’s severe issues that such motion ought to have been taken way more rigorously and with nice care…
— KC Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) December 27, 2025
Mr. Shivakumar initially hit again at Mr. Vijayan, saying he had “nothing to do with minorities.”
Siddaramaiah echoed these sentiments and justified the vandalism in Bengaluru by saying that regardless of issuing notices, residents didn’t comply.
“There’s a basic distinction between ‘bulldozer justice’ and the authorized removing of trespasses. The criticism by Pinarayi Vijayan is politically motivated and displays a lack of expertise of the factual state of affairs…” he stated.
A number of folks illegally erected a makeshift shelter on the Kogil Structure waste disposal website close to Yelahanka in Bengaluru. It’s not an acceptable place for folks to stay. Regardless of issuing a number of notices instructing households to relocate, residents… https://t.co/dsWrbevkEB
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) December 27, 2025
Mr. Narayanaswamy stated Mr. Vijayan’s remarks had been a “political gimmick” to garner assist within the poll-bound state, however later hardened his stance on Mr. Shivakumar’s remark that rehabilitation could be supplied to the homeless.
“First we should always set up who they’re and the place they arrive from after which rehabilitate them. Why is the Karnataka authorities bending over backwards to assist folks from different states and Bangladeshis who’re staying illegally,” Narayanaswamy stated.
In February final 12 months, the Siddaramaiah authorities supplied Rs 1.5 million to the household of 47-year-old Ajeesh Joseph Panakiyil, who was trampled to dying by a wild elephant in Wayanad, Kerala. The order was issued after the then Congress MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi allegedly requested Karnataka to take action. In response, the Karnataka authorities stated it was the “elephant of Karnataka” that had trampled on Ajeesh.
(Edited by Vinny Mishra)
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