May 17, 2026
Bulldozers cannot become the language of governance: Mamata Banerjee
Mamata Banerjee has hit out against the recent anti-encroachment and demolition drives across the state, calling them “bulldozer politics”. She argued that the poor are paying the price for political arrogance, as daily wage earners and hawkers are being stripped of their livelihoods without proper rehabilitation.
The Trinamool Congress chairperson posted on X about the issue on Sunday, May 17.
“From homes to hawker stalls, the poor are paying the price of political arrogance. Bengal does not believe in bulldozer politics. The land of Tagore and Netaji cannot be ruled through fear, force, and demolition drives against ordinary citizens,” she wrote.
She went on to write that what Bengal is seeing today is “an attack on the dignity of the people”, be they daily wage workers, street vendors, small shopkeepers or struggling families who have built their lives bit by bit.
“The massive eviction drive around Howrah Station, the unrest and anger erupting on the streets of Tiljala and Park Circus, and the growing desperation among those suddenly stripped of shelter and livelihood expose a government more obsessed with optics than humanity,” Mamata Banerjee wrote.
“A government that demolishes first and listens later has forgotten the very spirit of Bengal,” she wrote. She reminded the new government that “real progress is measured by how a state treats its weakest citizens, not by how quickly it can erase them.”
She ended by strongly reminding those in power that “bulldozers cannot become the language of governance in a state built on culture, compassion, and resistance to oppression.”
https://x.com/MamataOfficial/status/2056038408603267377?s=20
