Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticized the BJP for demolishing the home of a rat-hole miner involved in the Silkyara tunnel rescue mission. She accused the BJP of perpetuating injustice by tearing down the dwellings of the underprivileged and subjecting them to humiliation, labeling it as a manifestation of the BJP's "anyay kaal" or era of injustice.
On Wednesday, a demolition drive conducted by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in the Khajoori Khas area resulted in the destruction of numerous houses, including that of Wakeel Hassan. Hassan and his team of rat-hole miners had been lauded for their efforts in rescuing 41 workers trapped in Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel back in November of the previous year.
In a post on X, Vadra shared a video of Hassan's wife in which she is heard saying that her husband was the hero of Uttarkashi whom everyone respected and in exchange for that honour, they took away my house. Vadra highlighted how Hassan had endangered his life to rescue the workers trapped in the Uttarkashi tunnel, garnering attention from prominent BJP leaders who even posed for photographs with him for publicity purposes. However, Vadra lamented that once the spotlight faded, Hassan found himself confined to a police station, with his home demolished and the shelter for his children ripped away. This turn of events was emphasized by the Congress general secretary as a stark illustration of the BJP's treatment of those it once used for its own agenda.
Demolishing the houses of the poor, crushing them, torturing and humiliating them this injustice is the truth of the BJP's anyay kaal. The public will definitely respond to this injustice, Vadra said. DDA had said on Wednesday that the demolition drive was carried out on land that was part of planned development land. Police said several structures built illegally were demolished during the drive.