Kolkata: A major anti-encroachment drive near Howrah railway station has triggered a sharp political reaction in West Bengal, with TMC chief and former chief minister Mamata Banerjee accusing the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government of practising “bulldozer politics”.
The demolition drive was carried out on Sunday, May 17, to remove alleged illegal shops and structures near Ganga Ghat and the bus stand outside Howrah station, according to ABP Live. The report said the action was part of the state government’s wider push against encroachments.
Reacting strongly, Mamata Banerjee posted on X on Sunday night and said poor people were being forced to pay the price of “political arrogance”. She said Bengal does not believe in bulldozer politics and asserted that the land of Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose cannot be governed through fear, force and demolition drives against ordinary citizens.
The TMC chief said the action had hit daily wage earners, hawkers, small shopkeepers and struggling families who had built their homes “brick by brick”. She also referred to unrest in areas such as Tiljala and Park Circus, claiming that the government appeared more focused on optics than humanity.
Mamata further said a government that “breaks first and listens later” forgets Bengal’s soul. She argued that real development should be judged by how a state treats its weakest citizens, not by how quickly it can erase them.
The bulldozer action has now turned into a fresh flashpoint between the TMC and the BJP government, with livelihood, urban order and humane rehabilitation emerging as the central issues in the debate.