Banerjee slams ongoing demolition, eviction drives in West Bengal
Kolkata: Former chief minister Mamata Banerjee has criticised ongoing demolition and eviction drives in West Bengal, saying that the poor were being made to suffer because of “political arrogance” and asserting that Bengal “does not believe in bulldozer politics.”
According to Kashmir Media Service, Banerjee wrote on X, “The land of Tagore and Netaji cannot be ruled through fear, force, and demolition drives against ordinary citizens,”, adding that daily wage workers, street vendors, small shopkeepers and struggling families were facing attacks on their dignity and livelihoods.
Her remarks came amid anti-encroachment and demolition drives in several areas including Kolkata and districts surrounding Howrah Station. Authorities recently used bulldozers to remove temporary structures, including an alleged illegal factory in the Tiljala area where a fire had claimed three lives.
She said the eviction drive around Howrah Station and unrest in areas such as Tiljala and Park Circus reflected a government “more obsessed with optics than humanity.”
“A government that demolishes first and listens later has forgotten the very spirit of Bengal,” she said, adding that “real progress is measured by how a state treats its weakest citizens, not by how quickly it can erase them.”
Banerjee further stated that “bulldozers cannot become the language of governance in a state built on culture, compassion, and resistance to oppression.”
