New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday criticised the Supreme Court’s directive to remove all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR, calling it a step back from decades of humane, science-based policy. He said “blanket removals” were cruel, shortsighted, and stripped society of compassion.
His remarks came a day after the apex court ordered authorities in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, and Ghaziabad to relocate all strays from streets to shelters “at the earliest” in view of an “extremely grim” situation of dog bites causing rabies, especially among children.
“These voiceless souls are not ‘problems’ to be erased,” Gandhi wrote on X, adding that shelters, sterilisation, vaccination, and community care could make streets safe “without cruelty.” Public safety and animal welfare, he stressed, should go hand in hand.
The court directed the Delhi government to create shelters for about 5,000 dogs within six to eight weeks, with sufficient staff for sterilisation, vaccination, and care. All shelters must be under CCTV surveillance to ensure the animals remain on site.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan warned of strict action, including contempt proceedings, against any individual or organisation obstructing the process. “Will [animal activists] bring back children who fell prey to rabies? When the situation demands, you have to act,” the bench remarked.
The case arose from a suo motu proceeding initiated on July 28 over rising incidents of stray dog bites in the national capital.
