The ‘Bharat Bandh' against the steep rise in petrol prices, called by the Opposition National Democratic Alliance, Left parties, Samajwadi Party and others, evoked a mixed response on Thursday.
Several States, especially those ruled by NDA constituents, witnessed a total shutdown, with offices closed, and markets wearing a deserted look. Rail and road traffic were disrupted and incidents of violence were reported from Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal.
In Mumbai, there were reports of 42 BEST buses being damaged by protestors. The famous dabbawallahs of Mumbai also took a day off.
In Delhi, markets were closed and vehicular traffic was disrupted in some areas as BJP and Left activists blocked roads. In separate protests, hundreds of activists and leaders from the BJP and the Left parties were detained in Capital. These included Mr Prakash Karat, Mr A. B. Bardhan, Mr Sitaram Yechury, Mr D. Raja, of the Left parties. Among the BJP leaders were Mr Ananth Kumar, Mr Vijay Goel and Mr Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
In the North-East, Goa and Kashmir, tourist movement was affected as vehicles stayed off the roads. The bandh also affected life in parts of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha. In Tripura, there was a total hartal. In Kerala, dharnas were organised in all Assembly constituencies. In Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh also, there were protest demonstrations.
Opposition upbeat
Claiming that the Bharat Bandh was a “great success”, the Opposition parties urged the Centre to roll back the petrol price hike immediately. The BJP President, Mr Nitin Gadkari, termed the bandh a “coalition protest” against the Congress. “The people, with one voice, have demanded a complete roll-back of the increase in petrol prices with a message to the Congress party that if you don't roll back the hike, we will roll you back,” he said.
“The UPA Government should heed this popular protests and roll back the price increase forthwith,” the Left parties said.