Senior Congress leaders from Karnataka have issued a sharp rebuke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, urging him to stay out of the state's internal affairs. This strong reaction comes after Vijayan publicly criticised a reported demolition and eviction drive in Bengaluru, terming the action as 'shocking and painful'.
Vijayan's Facebook Post Sparks Political Firestorm
The controversy erupted on Friday, 27 December 2025, when Kerala's Left Democratic Front (LDF) chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, took to Facebook to slam the alleged actions in Karnataka's capital. In his social media post, he strongly condemned the reported use of bulldozers in Bengaluru, an action often colloquially referred to as 'bulldozer action' in political discourse. His intervention into a matter concerning a neighbouring state governed by a different political party immediately drew fierce backlash from the ruling party in Karnataka.
Karnataka Congress Leaders Issue a Firm Rejoinder
Congress leaders, including state party president and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, were quick to respond. They delivered a clear and unambiguous message to the Kerala CM: focus on your own state. The leaders asserted that Karnataka is capable of handling its own governance and law-and-order issues without unsolicited commentary from the leadership of other states. This exchange highlights the often-fraught relations between state governments led by rival political formations, where comments on each other's domestic issues are viewed as political overreach.
Analyzing the Interstate Political Dynamics
This incident is not merely about a single eviction drive but underscores a larger trend of political one-upmanship and boundary-pushing between states. The Congress's firm 'keep off' warning to Vijayan establishes a political precedent, reinforcing the autonomy of state administrations. It also brings the sensitive issue of displacement and demolition drives back into the national spotlight, a topic that often generates heated debate around urban development, legality, and humanitarian concerns. The timing of the comment, and the swiftness of the counter, indicates the high political stakes involved for both sides.
As of now, the Kerala Chief Minister's office has not issued a further response to the Karnataka Congress's admonishment. The row, however, has successfully ignited a fresh debate on the limits of political commentary across state borders and the optics of 'bulldozer justice' in public perception.
