BJP leaders protest against demolition drive in Raipur Khurd

On Saturday, several leaders of the Chandigarh BJP were arrested by the police after they protested against the UT administration’s demolition drive in Raipur Khurd village.

On the orders of the Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh, the demolition of two unauthorised commercial buildings in Raipur Khurd village began on Friday. However, the drive continued on Saturday.

“The department has taken action against buildings that are around 10-15 years old. Area councillor Harjeet Singh, BJP state secretary Hukum Chand, councillor Manoj Sonkar, BJP state secretary Shashi Shankar Tiwari, district president Bhupendra Singh Saini, district vice-president Arvind Singh, and others had come to protest against the Chandigarh administration’s action but were detained by the police,” BJP officials said in a press statement, adding that the leaders were later released after being kept at the Manimajra police station till noon.

BJP leaders alleged that the administration is working on a pick and choose basis. BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra said that a dozen small commercial units were operational and hundreds of people were working in these buildings for the past 10-15 years. They stressed that the administration should come out with a concrete policy for the area.

The buildings, which were constructed without proper permits, were subject to a demolition order issued by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in 2019. Despite the owners’ request for a 15-day extension in January 2024 to demolish the unauthorised structure themselves, they failed to do so.