Bulldozer action not a part of our tradition

On completing one year of his government in Madhya Pradesh, chief minister Mohan Yadav spoke to Shruti Tomar on an array of issues, including his vision for the state, the reduction of bulldozer action in the past year, and the court's interim order on the Places of Worship Act.

- Shruti Tomar

BHOPAL:

Edited excerpts:

You took over as CM from Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was in the post for almost 20 years. How has your approach been different since you have taken over?

The work was new, and there were challenges for me. Our BJP government was in power for a long time, and it was being run by Shivraj ji with his own identity. It's right that I was very junior as compared to Shivraj ji, but I took his work forward and I got support from everyone including him. I don't have any personal agenda and I concentrated on my administrative capability, which was taught to me during the training as a Swayamsevak, and I bore the responsibility handed to me.

The Supreme Court put a hold on bulldozer justice. After UP, MP demolished the maximum number of properties of people who were accused of different crimes. What is your view on the order?

As I said earlier, bulldozer action is not a part of our tradition, and I never favoured it. I welcome the decision as illegal houses should be demolished after following all the legal process. We will take action against the accused according to law.

The Supreme Court has also halted all proceedings in courts regarding claims of temples in mosques and dargahs across India till it decides on the petition challenging the Worship Act. How do you see it?