Has Yogi Adityanath done the right thing by bulldozing Shrikant Tyagi's illegal encroachment?

Has Yogi Adityanath done the right thing by bulldozing Shrikant Tyagi's illegal encroachment?

The bulldozers are expectedly back in Uttar Pradesh under the Yogi government 2.0. This time, it is BJP leader Shrikant Tyagi at the receiving end. Tyagi, who identified himself as the national executive member of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha and national co-coordinator of its Yuva Samiti, was booked under Indian Penal Code Section 354 (assault or use of criminal force on any woman) after a video of him abusing and heckling a woman of the housing society in Noida had gone viral on social media. He is absconding since then.

The bulldozer is being increasingly used as an agency to maintain law and order in Uttar Pradesh.  The bulldozer, in the hands of the city development authorities and backed by police, has emerged as the instrument of choice. Despite its oppressive real images, "bulldozer action" remains popular among the masses. C-Voter-Indiatracker's recent survey resonates the sentiments. During the survey, respondents were asked whether the Yogi government has been successful in delivering the message of "equal justice to all" by demolishing the illegal construction of the so-called BJP leader. 62 percent of respondents agreed to the notion while 38 percent responded negatively.

As the accompanying chart shows, Indians across age, gender, educational, income, religious and ethnic backgrounds backed Adityanath's aggressive stand. 69 percent youth and 62 percent senior citizens supported the idea. The same was seen among people with different education and income groups as well. A whopping 82 percent of NDA supporters backed Yogi Adityanath as against to 46 percent UPA supporters.

Interestingly, we saw diverse opinions in ethnic groups. While 76 percent of the Upper Caste Hindus were in support of the action, only 35 percent Muslims backed UP govt on this issue. The support among Sikhs was a mere 11.5 percent.

Clearly, the data suggests that “baba’s bulldozer” had people’s backing. Since March 25, the day the Yogi government was sworn in for a second term, these machines that helped shape the narrative for 2022 UP polls have been roaring frequently, razing structures of the mafia and pulling down encroachments.