Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party has failed to provide employment in Jammu and Kashmir, and has instead sent bulldozers to evict residents of the Union Territory.

On January 9, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had directed deputy commissioners of the Union territory to ensure that “all encroachments on state land” were removed by January 31.

The demolition drive was the largest anti-encroachment exercise ever undertaken in Jammu and Kashmir as the government claimed that 2.75 lakh acres of land (or around 1,112.8 sq km of land) have been encroached upon in the region.

“Jammu and Kashmir wanted employment, better business and love, but what did they get? Bulldozer of BJP,” Gandhi tweeted in Hindi on Sunday. “The land, which the people irrigated with hard work for many decades, is being snatched from them. Peace and Kashmiriyat will be protected by uniting, not by dividing and dividing people.”

On January 20, the Supreme Court had refused to stay the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s circular to remove encroachments from government lands by January 31. However, the locals fear that they will lose their land as well.

Last week, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had assured that the drive will only retrieve land from influential persons, reported The Times of India.

“Some people tried to spread misinformation that common man will be impacted in the anti-encroachment drive,” Sinha said. “Only influential and powerful people who misused their position and violated the law to encroach upon the state land would face the law of the land.”

Lands from former Kashmiri ministers Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed, Maqbool Dar, Haseeb Drabu, Taj Mohiudin and Ali Mohammad Sager among others have been retreived by the authorities, reported the Hindustan Times.

Also read: Why a demolition drive has sparked panic and anxiety in Jammu and Kashmir