Gandhi's followers betraying his ideals, says CPI(M)'s MA Baby on Bengaluru demolitions

New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI) CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby on Monday evoked Mahatma Gandhi to urge the Karnataka government to stop demolitions and resettle the displaced families.

In a post on X, Baby referred to Gandhi's talisman and said the self-proclaimed followers of the Mahatma have long since betrayed his ideals.

"Mahatma Gandhi left behind this talisman in one of his last notes before he was assassinated: "Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him"," Baby said.

"The self-proclaimed followers of the Mahatma have long since betrayed his ideals. The poorest and the weakest men, women, and children in North Bengaluru are now sleeping in the open during harsh winter nights after their homes were demolished by the authorities under the Congress Government, despite most of them having lived there for over three decades," he said.

In an apparent jibe at Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, he said even as the 'Mohabbat ki Dukan' is being wrecked by bulldozers under their own watch, purportedly at the behest of real estate bigwigs, it is deeply unfortunate that the Congress leadership is more concerned about deriding the Communists who have taken up this issue.

He said the Congress government in Karnataka must halt further demolitions and immediately provide shelter to all affected families. "Send back your bulldozers and protect the people's lives," he said.

A demolition drive carried out last week in Kogilu village, Yelahanka, demolished more than 200 houses in Waseem Layout and Fakir Colony.

The operation was reportedly conducted by Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited to clear what were described as encroachments on land earmarked for a proposed waste processing unit.

The Karnataka government on Monday decided to provide alternate accommodations to those "genuine" homeless whose illegally constructed houses or sheds were demolished by authorities at Kogilu in the northern part of the city during a demolition drive.

The relief was based on humanitarian grounds. PTI AO KSS KSS