New Delhi, 21 April 2022: Condemning the demolition drive in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has called it selective and highly unjust.

In a media statement, JIH Vice President Prof. Salim Engineer said, “razing shops and a gate of mosque immediately after the anti-Muslim violence has a very clear meaning. This one-sided illegal action has exposed the biased mentality of the administration. If the objective was only to demolish unauthorized structures, legal requirements and standard operating procedures should have been followed and a prior notice should have been issued to the affected families. But here humanitarian considerations and the rulings of the Supreme Court were completely disregarded. This is more reprehensible action because the shops targeted belonged to the marginalized and vulnerable sections of the society. The claim that the demolition was a normal drive and nothing to do with the April 16, communal violence is so ridiculous that no one in the country can believe it. The timing of this communal drive makes it clear that it was carried out to create fear among the Muslims. Such demolition operations were too carried out in Madhya Pradesh recently. This tendency of demolition operations is very dangerous for the country. It is a new trend to collapse the rule of law in the country and encourage lawlessness of government officials.”

Prof. Salim said, “another condemnable aspect of the Jahangirpuri drive was that the demolition continued unabated for a few hours even after the pronouncement of stay order by the Supreme Court of India, which is entirely a violation of the law. It shows the communal attitude of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC). Despite all the opposition parties condemning the demolition unanimously, the government is ignoring the voice of the people and not following any democratic norms.”

Welcoming the stay order, the JIH Vice President has expressed hope that the Supreme Court will deliver justice and help the aggrieved in this case.