Will Yogi use bulldozers against anti-Agnipath protesters?

The majority of bulldozer demolitions in UP have been carried out on homes and shelters of the minority community

With more and more youth joining the protests against the ruling dispensation’s much-hyped Agnipath scheme, all eyes are on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who believes in using deterrence against protestors. The question currently discussed in political and social circles across Uttar Pradesh is whether those engaging in arson and violence will now have to face bulldozers?

The blatant use of bulldozers against properties of anyone even remotely suspected of indulging in violence has been so rampant under Adityanath's rule that the chief minister was referred to as the 'Bulldozer Baba'. What began as a deterrence drive against properties unlawfully acquired or constructed by notorious mafia dons like Mukhtar Ansari, Atiq Ahmed, and Vikas Dube turned into a ruthless means to gag voices of dissent.

While the initial victims happened to be from among those who staged demonstrations against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), more recently the bulldozer became a symbol of Adityanath’s ire toward those staging protests against the insulting remarks about Prophet Mohammed by the BJP's now suspended spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled leader Naveen Jindal.

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Adityanath's mandarins did not hesitate to twist and turn the existing laws to bring down a double-storeyed house in Allahabad (Prayagraj) owned by the wife of Javed, a resident booked as the “mastermind” behind the protests and stone-pelting in the city. The demolition was carried out in broad daylight after Javed was arrested and his wife and two young daughters whisked away to an unknown location. The idea was to send the message far and wide that protests would not be tolerated under any circumstances and that the administration could go to any extent to teach alleged culprits a lesson.

While the state government was still contemplating slapping damages against the protestors accused of damaging public and private property, anti-Agnipath protests have taken a huge toll on both government and private property in several parts of the state.

Sure enough, it is a trying time for "Bulldozer Baba”, who has established his reputation as a tough administrator, but is also known for using an iron hand to deal with protestors. While his bureaucrats and cops await his green signal to unleash the bulldozer, the chief minister is understood to be in a quandary on the issue.

Using the bulldozer against anti-Agnipath protestors would enable Adityanath to dispel the common impression that it is mostly Muslims that his government targets for demolishing their houses if found indulging in violent protests. After all, the fact remains that most victims of bulldozer demolitions in Uttar Pradesh have been from the minority community.

However, given the widespread protests that have paralysed routine lives in large parts of at least a dozen Indian states, the ruling dispensation’s bigwigs in Delhi are believed to have urged the UP CM to put his bulldozer plans on hold. After all, the Modi government appears to be quite rattled by the protests by youth disillusioned with the half-baked grandiosely-named Agnipath scheme. That the government is shaken has been amply demonstrated with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announcing amendents to the scheme at daily intervals.

The realisation has dawned at the highest level that it was imprudent on their part to have arbitrarily and unilaterally gone for a complete overhauling of defence recruitment. Although late in the day, it was also felt that things would have perhaps not gone that awry if the government had cared to hold prior consultation with stakeholders.

A bit of unwritten restraint advice has been sent from the highest level to put on hold 'bulldozer justice' in UP. But the UP chief minister is known to defy the Delhi bigwigs. Not long back, A K Sharma, a powerful IAS officer considered close to the PM, was completely ignored for more than a year because Adityanath was not convinced about accommodating him to any significant position in the UP government. Sharma, who had opted for voluntary retirement nearly 22 months before his superannuation, had to remain content with just a berth in the upper house of the legislature for more than a year even though he was here as a special envoy of the prime minister. He was accommodated in the UP Cabinet only after the return of the Adityanath government in March 2022.

As such, whether Adityanath will use or not use the bulldozer against anti-Agnipath protestors remains the big question in UP.

(Sharat Pradhan is a journalist and author based in Lucknow)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.