Tamil Nadu BJP Youth Wing president SG Suryah has slammed the DMK government for selectively enforcing court orders, alleging that demolitions were carried out swiftly when poor residents were affected, while similar judicial directives were ignored when minority vote-bank considerations were involved.
Speaking during a public debate, Suryah referred to the large-scale demolition drive carried out in Anakaputhur earlier this year and contrasted it with the stalled demolition of a church building in Chrompet despite a High Court order.
“The same DMK government that is now going around demolishing 750 houses says it is doing so because there is a High Court order, and so they are demolishing 750 houses,” Suryah said. “The very people living there said, ‘We are going to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. Until that judgment comes, please do not implement this order.’ But the government replied, ‘That is not possible; the High Court has given its judgment, so we are demolishing,’ and they went ahead and demolished 750 houses, forcing thousands of people to sit on the streets.”
Referring to events in Anakaputhur in May 2025, Suryah said the demolitions had displaced hundreds of families. In that operation, Tambaram Corporation authorities carried out eviction and demolition of nearly 600 concrete houses in areas such as Quaid-E-Millath Nagar, Stalin Nagar, Chamundeswari Nagar, Shanthi Nagar and Moogambi Nagar, citing High Court directions to remove encroachments along the Adyar River as part of flood mitigation measures.
According to official records, 593 unauthorised houses were identified for removal in Anakaputhur alone, with more than 300 structures demolished within the first few days of the operation. The drive was carried out under heavy police presence, with relocation tokens issued for alternative housing in Keerapakkam, Thailavaram, Perumbakkam and Navalur. However, several residents claimed they had lived in the area for decades and alleged that they had been promised pattas shortly before demolition notices were issued.
Suryah alleged that the DMK government adopted a different approach in Chrompet.
“Just two days ago, in Hasthinapuram in Chromepet, there was an illegal church, that is, a church constructed in violation of law,” he said. “In 2023, a court judgment came saying that this church must be demolished because it has been built on government land. Two days ago, corporation officials went there. But since all the local organisations and groups came together and protested, and for the sole reason that they want minority votes, the officials returned without implementing the court’s order and without demolishing that church.”
The church in question, belonging to the India Evangelical Church on Hasthinapuram Rajendra Prasad Road in Chrompet, has been the subject of prolonged litigation. In 2023, the Madras High Court ordered its demolition for being constructed without mandatory approvals. An appeal filed before the Supreme Court was dismissed, leaving the High Court order intact.
After the structure remained standing, a contempt petition was filed, following which the High Court directed that the church be demolished by 5 December 2025, warning that senior officials would be summoned if the order was not complied with. Tambaram Corporation officials subsequently moved to carry out the demolition under heavy police deployment, but the exercise was stalled due to protests by church members, local residents and traders, who occupied the premises and staged demonstrations.
Drawing a comparison between the two cases, Suryah accused the DMK of double standards.
“So, in Anakaputhur, when poor people are affected, they will immediately demolish houses. But when there is a problem involving their vote bank, they will immediately refuse to demolish and will not honour those very same court orders,” he said. “That is their position.”
The DMK government has maintained that demolitions in Anakaputhur were carried out in accordance with court directions and flood-mitigation requirements, while officials have stated that the Chrompet demolition will proceed once law and order concerns are addressed.
நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிட்டும் தேவாலயதத்தை இடிக்காத தி.மு.க@thedebatetamil விவாதத்தில் #Thiruparankundram #DMKFails pic.twitter.com/qyrTRhXTQR
— Dr.SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) December 15, 2025
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