Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Shivakumar said that an eviction drive was carried out to remove people who had encroached on government land which was notified for solid waste management. (Express Photo)
A day after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan raised allegations of “bulldozer raj” in Karnataka after around 300 families were evicted from Bengaluru’s Faqir Colony and Waseem Layout, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar advised him against issuing statements without ascertaining facts.
On Friday, commenting on last week’s eviction, Vijayan had posted on X: “The bulldozing of Faqir Colony and Waseem Layout in Bengaluru, uprooting Muslim families who have lived there for years, exposes the brutal normalisation of ‘bulldozer raj’. Sadly, the Sangh Parivar’s anti-minority politics is now being executed under a Congress Government in Karnataka.”
“When a regime rules through fear and brute force, constitutional values and human dignity become the first casualties. All secular and democratic forces must rally together to resist and defeat this insidious trend,” Vijayan added.
The bulldozing of Faqir Colony and Waseem Layout in Bengaluru, uprooting Muslim families who have lived there for years, exposes the brutal normalisation of “bulldozer raj”. Sadly, the Sangh Parivar’s anti-minority politics is now being executed under a Congress Government in…
“We are not into bulldozer (justice). We have not done anything using bulldozers. We tried to vacate (the encroachers) and protect the public place,” Shivakumar said, adding that Vijayan should not comment about the matter “without knowing the facts… These are political gimmicks ahead of state elections (in Kerala).”
Shivakumar stated that if the displaced individuals had valid documents, the government would sanction them houses. “If anyone wants houses, definitely we will give them. We have planned lakhs of houses. Talks are on to rehabilitate those who are genuinely affected, but not to those who just want to occupy government land,” he said.
The matter was first raised by BJP leader Bhaskar Rao who put up a social media post on Tuesday, alleging that bulldozers and the police flattened the houses without any notice.
Gut wrenching and heartless demolition of 300 houses of poorest of poor Muslim brethren in our Bengaluru, City of Millionaires. Bulldozers and Police flattened the houses of these hapless in 2 hours with no notice because they were staying on an abandoned quarry for past 25… pic.twitter.com/ecumH3X5KZ
— Bhaskar Rao (@Nimmabhaskar22) December 23, 2025
“Gut wrenching and heartless demolition of 300 houses of poorest of poor Muslim brethren in our Bengaluru, City of Millionaires. Bulldozers and Police flattened the houses of these hapless in 2 hours with no notice because they were staying on an abandoned quarry for past 25 years, a 5 acre govt land,” he said, urging the government to show humanity.
Curated by Dr. Elena Rodriguez
