Bharat bandh: Mulayam, others court arrest

A bandh called by NDA, Left parties and SP to protest against diesel price hike, FDI in multi-brand retail and cap on subsidised LPG today evoked mixed response as protestors disrupted road and rail traffic in parts of UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha but it had little impact in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Left leaders Prakash Karat and A B Bardhan courted arrest in Delhi during the nation-wide bandh.

   
After holding a joint demonstration at Jantar Mantar, the leaders of SP, four Left parties, JD(S), TDP and BJD marched to Parliament Street Police Station along with supporters and courted arrest.
  
Besides Yadav, Karat (CPI-M)and Bardhan (CPI), other prominent leaders who courted arrested included Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), Chandrababu Naidu of TDP and Deve Gowda.

In Delhi, most of the markets remained closed and vehicular movement was normal though protesters blocked traffic at some places.

Shops in some areas like Bhogal, Laxmi Nagar, Defence Colony and South Extension in the capital were open in the morning hours but though big markets like Khan Market, Connaught Place, Greater Kailash, Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk and Kashmere Gate were shut.

Auto rickshaws plied in the city and buses of state-run Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) were on the roads in large numbers. At New Delhi railway station, auto drivers staged a protests and refused to carry passengers.

However, most of the private schools in Delhi remained closed. BJP supporters blocked vehicular movement on Vikas Marg. A BJP spokesperson said the party will be staging protests at around 100 locations in the capital.

A senior Delhi Police official said a large number of personnel have been deployed. "We have ensured that every major road has police presence," he said. Samajwadi Party and BJP workers staged demonstrations and stopped trains at a number of places in Uttar Pradesh.

Protestors stopped trains in Mathura, Agra, Varanasi, Allahabad and Lucknow while BJP workers and traders blocked the Agra-Gwalior Highway by burning tyres.

Major markets remained closed at a number of places in UP, including in the state capital, official sources in Licknow. Raising slogans against FDI in retail, a group of SP
workers held a demonstration outside the Walmart store at Sultanpur in Lucknow. The party also protested outside Divisional Railway Manager's office in Hazratganj.

The bandh evoked little response in Mumbai owing to Ganesh festivities across Maharashtra. Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have kept away from the day-long bandh due to the festival.

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