By IANS,
Ranchi: Two senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Thursday sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention in the ongoing demolition drive in Jharkhand, which has led to the displacement of more than one lakh people.
Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and former party state unit chief Raghubar Das separately wrote to the prime minister on the issue.
“We have sought PM’s intervention to help the poor people of the state,” Sinha told reporters here.
Meanwhile, Das told IANS that the demolition drive violates the basics of the constitution.
“The constitution says India is a social welfare state. Any demolition drive should not be executed this way. Public sector units like Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), Central Coalfield Limited (CCL), and others acquired much more land than their requirement. The vacant land should be used to rehabilitate the displaced people. The people who made their houses on land of these PSUs should not be displaced,” he contended.
Social worker Swami Agnivesh joined the protest against the demolitions in Ranchi, visiting Islamnagar and other places where thousands of people were rendered homeless. He also met Governor M.O.H. Farook and sough his intervention.
“The demolition drive is going on to help the industrialists and big people. The demolition drive should not take place this way,” Agnivesh told reporters.
Over 4,600 illegal structures have been demolished in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro and other districts in the last one month on the directives of the Jharkhand High Court.
Five people, four in Ranchi and one in Dhanbad, have died of shock after they were served notice to evict their houses.
The high court Wednesday rejected the state government’s petition seeking stay of three to four weeks on the ongoing demolition drive. Sinha met Chief Minister Arjun Munda and suggested that the state move the Supreme Court against the order of the Jharkhand High Court.