Bulldozer culture not in line with judiciary, must be stopped: UP Congress chief     

Congress leader Ajay Rai on Wednesday said the ‘bulldozer culture’ in Uttar Pradesh is not in line with the judicial system and must be stopped.

The Congress Uttar Pradesh unit president's remark came in the wake of a barbative exchange between Akhilesh Yadav and Yogi Adityanath over the use of bulldozer — the machine which has become emblematic of the iron fist rule of the UP CM.

The exchange between the two leaders was sparked off after the Supreme Court lambasted the use of bulldozers to demolish the homes of criminals on Monday.

Rai hailed the SC observation and called for a strict implementation of the rule of law. "We welcome the order given by the Supreme Court and any decision should be in as per the judiciary so that the people can get justice. There is no place for bulldozers in the judiciary," Rai told PTI Videos here.

Earlier in the day, Adityanath retorted sharply to Akhilesh Yadav's threat that he will, after 2027, order all ‘bulldozers’ to Gorakhpur — the home district of the CM — saying not everyone has the heart to handle a bulldozer. "Not everyone's hands can fit on a bulldozer. It requires both 'dil and dimaag'," Adityanath said.

Yadav, in a statement on Tuesday, had said, "As soon as the Samajwadi government is formed in 2027, the bulldozers of the entire state will head towards Gorakhpur."

A bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan on Monday during a hearing had remarked, "How can anybody's house be demolished just because he is an accused? Even if he is a convict, still it can't be done without following the procedure as prescribed by law."

BSP president Mayawati welcomed the observation of the apex court on Tuesday, which said it will lay down the guidelines in the matter to be implemented across the country.