A bulldozer demolishes a house.
Credit: Reuters photo
Lucknow: The opposition leaders in Uttar Pradesh hailed the Supreme Court judgement on ''bulldozer justice'' on Wednesday, and said that the verdict would 'end' the ''shadow of terror'' on the people in the state.
The apex court, in its judgement laid down the guidelines for demolition of houses and said that the erring officials would be made to pay the cost of restitution of the property from their salary.
''We hope that the bulldozers will now be stationary and the houses of the people will not be demolished,'' Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said in a post on social media. He, however, expressed doubt if the people would get justice in the state.
BSP supremo Mayawati also hailed the verdict and said that it was a 'slap' on the face of the BJP government. ''We expect that the reign of terror triggered by the bulldozer action in the state will now come to an end,'' she added.
In a post on her 'X' (formerly Twitter) handle, Mayawati said that the state government should follow the rule of law while demolishing the houses of the people.
Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar also welcomed the SC judgement and said that the state government stood exposed on this issue.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath was often referred to as "bulldozer baba" by his supporters as there have been several instances of use of bulldozers to demolish houses of alleged criminals.
The opposition parties have alleged that the BJP government has targeted the houses of minority community, a charge denied by the state government.