Thiruvananthapuram: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday expressed concern over what he described as the spread of “bulldozer raj” to Telangana after Karnataka, alleging that the demolition of houses in Khammam district reflected an inhumane approach by the Congress govt in the state. In a statement, Vijayan said that around 700 houses built on Bhoodan land at Velugumatla village in Khammam district were demolished with police support in the early hours of Feb 25, allegedly without prior notice. He claimed that nearly 3,000 residents, all possessing identification documents, were rendered homeless by the action. The CM said the houses at Vinoba Nagar were originally allotted to landless families during the Bhoodan movement led by Vinoba Bhave. He said it was surprising that the Congress govt in Telangana could not accept even the limited objectives of the Bhoodan movement.Vijayan also referred to similar demolitions in Yelahanka, stating that the victims there continued to live on the streets. He questioned how the Congress could lead and implement what he termed “inhumane actions”, and said the Congress leadership in Kerala which claimed Left credentials, must respond. He accused the Congress of filling media space in Kerala with large-scale advertisements from the Telangana govt.Drawing a contrast with Kerala, Vijayan said the state set a new model of rehabilitation and reconstruction by providing new homes to those who lost everything in major disasters. At a time when Kerala was granting land titles to those without pattayam and converting them into landowners, he alleged, the Telangana govt was portraying even those with pattayam as fake title holders and evicting them.Vijayan alleged that Congress govts were proving to be replicas of certain BJP govts in north India in their approach to evictions and described such actions as a politics of displacement and harassment targeting ordinary people. Referring again to Yelahanka and Khammam, he said the incidents were examples of how the Congress treated common people wherever it came to power. He also alleged that in Kerala, the Congress promised to build hundreds of houses for those who lost everything in the Mundakkai–Chooralmala disaster but later failed to fulfil that commitment, calling it another reflection of the party’s approach towards the public.
