The CPI(M) in Kerala has launched a sustained political campaign against the Congress over recent demolition drives in Bengaluru, where a large number of the affected homes reportedly belong to Muslims. The campaign gathered pace after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan publicly criticised the demolitions, following which several senior CPI(M) leaders and party sympathisers began amplifying the issue on social media and other public platforms.
At first glance, it may seem curious that the CPI(M)’s Kerala unit is taking the lead in targeting a Congress government in a neighbouring state. But the reason lies in local political compulsions. After suffering a drubbing in the local body polls, the CPI(M) is keen to go on the offensive against the Congress. State boundaries are secondary, and an issue framed around the targeting of minorities, particularly Muslims, was one the party chose not to let pass.
Pinarayi accused the Karnataka Congress government of emulating the BJP’s “bulldozer raj,” saying the evictions violated constitutional values and human dignity. He urged secular and democratic forces nationwide to campaign against what he called an alarming political trend emerging in Karnataka.
What began as criticism has now escalated into a full-blown political confrontation, with several twists on Saturday, December 27. The CPI(M) first rebuked the Karnataka Congress, drawing sharp responses from the Karnataka Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. As the issue became viral in Malayalam social media space and CPI(M) Kerala MP AA Rahim visited affected families, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal stepped in, saying he had spoken to the Karnataka leadership, which assured him that those rendered homeless would be taken care of.
This, in turn, prompted the BJP to question why Congress leaders from outside the state were intervening in the functioning of a democratically elected government.
The demolition drive was carried out by the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) on December 20. The operation reportedly displaced nearly 400 families during one of the coldest weeks the city has experienced in recent years.
BSWML officials said the structures had come up illegally on five acres of government land and were removed as part of an encroachment-clearance initiative. Residents countered that they were evicted without notice and under heavy police deployment, forcing families, many of whom claimed to have lived there for decades, to sleep in makeshift roadside shelters. Several cited Aadhaar cards and electricity bills to assert long-term residence.
According to CPI(M) sources who TNM spoke to, the party’s renewed focus on minorities comes in the backdrop of electoral setbacks. The CPI(M) leadership has assessed that a significant section of Left sympathisers from the Muslim community had shifted to the UDF in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the local body polls, indicating that the party’s minority outreach “hasn’t worked well this time.”
Sources further pointed to growing unease among Muslim communities over Pinarayi Vijayan not condemning SNDP leader Vellappally Natesan’s anti-Muslim remarks, sharing the stage with him, and publicly praising him.
Notably, the CPI(M)’s intervention in Yelahanka is not linked to any Malayali population in the area. Those facing eviction include Tamil Christians and a few Kannadiga families, with nearly 70% of the affected residents being Muslims.
DYFI and CPI(M) teams visit Yelahanka
The campaign moved beyond online statements to on-ground political intervention. A CPI(M) delegation visited Yelahanka on Saturday, December 27, to assess the situation and meet residents affected by the evictions. The team was led by Rajya Sabha MP A A Rahim and included CPI(M) leaders and DYFI workers from Kerala, with participation from the organisation’s Karnataka unit as well.
Explaining the purpose of the visit, Rahim said, “This visit is part of a DYFI delegation going to meet the people who were pushed onto the streets as a result of the bulldozer raj carried out under the leadership of the Congress government. The Karnataka state leadership of DYFI is also accompanying the delegation.”
Drawing parallels between the Bengaluru demolitions and similar actions in northern states of India, senior CPI(M) leader M Swaraj said,“The houses of poor people in Fakir Colony and Wasim Layout in Yelahanka were bulldozed around four in the morning. People who had been living there for three decades were turned into refugees overnight.”
Swaraj also took aim at Sunil Kanugolu, the Congress’s poll strategist, alleging a coordinated effort to justify the demolitions online. He said, “One can see hired propagandists roaming around with strange arguments such as: this is not like the bulldozer raj of North India; this is the bulldozer raj of Karnataka, and this is a “good” bulldozer raj. ‘Only 150 houses were demolished!’, ‘Only a thousand people are affected!!’ ‘Only eighty percent of those thrown onto the streets are Muslims!!!’
‘Medical camps have been organized for those evicted, so they are happy……’Thus go the arguments of Kanugolu’s hired hands.”
Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev also joined in, accusing the Karnataka government of importing a dangerous political model.
“Arriving with bulldozers at dawn, the Karnataka government is spreading to south India a version of the minority persecution carried out by the Sangh Parivar in north India. Those who should be working to protect housing and provide homes for the homeless through various housing schemes are instead destroying so many houses overnight and wiping out the dreams of hundreds of families—an act of sheer cruelty.”
Alongside these statements, CPI(M)’s social media handles were widely sharing videos, visuals, and commentary targeting the Congress over the demolition drive.
Congress counters: ‘Not bulldozer raj, but encroachment removal’
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah strongly rebutted Pinarayi’s remarks, saying the evictions took place on a waste-disposal site that was unsafe for human habitation. He maintained that multiple notices were issued to residents and that the clearance became unavoidable after they failed to relocate.
He said temporary shelter, food, and essential facilities had been arranged, and despite many of the occupants being migrant workers, the government would ensure accommodation on humanitarian grounds.
Siddaramaiah dismissed comparisons to “bulldozer raj,” calling Pinarayi’s criticism “politically motivated” and based on “a lack of understanding of the factual situation.”
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar called Pinarayi’s remarks “unfortunate”, saying senior leaders should understand the ground situation before commenting. He stressed that the residents had been offered alternative accommodation and that the government would not allow slums to evolve into “land mafia” networks.
“We have humanity. We gave them opportunities to move. Only a few of them are locals,” he said.
In a detailed statement, Shivakumar said the cleared land, 15 acres of government Gomala land in Survey No. 99, was a quarry used for solid waste disposal and “extremely unsafe” for habitation. Unauthorised AC-sheet houses on the dumpsite were removed on December 20. Rehabilitation measures had been arranged, he said, and eligible families would be considered for housing schemes.
Greater Bengaluru Authority Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao echoed the government’s position, saying the land was unsafe for habitation and that displaced residents would be considered for housing schemes.
“Rehabilitation facilities have been arranged, and eligible displaced persons will be considered for housing under applicable government schemes,” he said.