LUCKNOW (The Thursday Times) — Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Thursday that the bulldozer had become the state’s “brand”, and invited companies to manufacture bulldozers there, saying demand would rise across India and abroad if they were made in the state.
He made the remarks by video link from Lucknow at the ground-breaking of a CNH Industrial tractor plant in the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority area, an investment of more than Rs1,200 crore.
“The rule of law has replaced mafia rule in Uttar Pradesh. The zero-tolerance policy towards crime and criminals, coupled with bulldozer action, has transformed the state into a major investment destination,” Adityanath said. “If companies manufacture bulldozers and tractors here, their demand will automatically rise across India and abroad.”
A symbol in dispute
“Bulldozer action”, the demolition of buildings linked to people accused of crimes, has become a signature of Adityanath’s government since he took office in 2017, and other states governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party have followed it.
Critics and rights groups say the demolitions bypass due process. Amnesty International has said they have fallen hardest on Muslim homes and businesses. Authorities say the structures razed were illegal.
In November 2024, India’s Supreme Court laid down nationwide guidelines, ruling that a home cannot be demolished simply because its owner is accused, or even convicted, of a crime, and requiring notice before any demolition.
The bulldozer reached opposition politics this week too: in Kolkata, a shed outside the home of Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee was razed, which a state minister called an encroachment.
The investment pitch
Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh had received investment proposals worth more than Rs50 lakh crore in nine and a half years, of which projects worth Rs15 lakh crore had been grounded, and that the number of factories had risen from 14,000 to 35,000. Uttar Pradesh accounts for 18.5% of India’s tractor market, he said.
Earlier this week he defended Diwali firecrackers despite the smog over northern India.
