Thiruvananthapuram, March 2 (IANS) Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Congress, alleging that its government in Telangana had unleashed a “bulldozer raj” by demolishing hundreds of houses and rendering thousands homeless.

In a strongly worded statement, Vijayan said the demolition of 700 houses in Velugumatla village of Khammam district under heavy police presence was “deeply alarming.”

The houses, he noted, were built on Bhoodan land allotted to landless families during the movement led by Vinoba Bhave.

“Without issuing any prior notice, nearly 3,000 people possessing valid identity documents were evicted in the early hours of February 25,” the Chief Minister said, accusing the Congress government in Telangana of disregarding even the limited humanitarian objectives of the historic Bhoodan movement.

Vijayan also referred to similar eviction drives in Yelahanka, stating that victims there continue to struggle for survival.

Vijayan accused the Congress of mirroring the approach of BJP-ruled northern states and accused the party of pursuing a “crude politics of displacement.”

“How can the Congress lead and implement such inhuman measures?” he asked, adding that the Congress leadership in Kerala, which claims progressive credentials, must clarify its stand.

Drawing a contrast with Kerala’s rehabilitation policies, the Chief Minister said the State had set a new benchmark in post-disaster reconstruction by providing homes to those who lost everything in major calamities.

He alleged that while Kerala grants land titles to the landless and regularises ownership, Telangana was branding even those with valid ‘pattayams’ as “fake title holders” and proceeding with evictions.

He further charged that the Congress had failed to honour its promise in Kerala to construct hundreds of houses for victims of the Mundakkai–Chooralmala disaster in Wayanad.

“The incidents in Yelahanka and Khammam show how the Congress treats ordinary citizens wherever it comes to power,” Vijayan said, claiming that the pattern was consistent across states.

The remarks signal an intensification of political sparring between the CPI(M)-led Left government and the Congress, with housing and rehabilitation emerging as a fresh flashpoint.

–IANS

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