Normal life was hit in many Indian states Monday with offices and educational institutes closed and vehicles off the roads during an united opposition-sponsored ‘Bharat Bandh’ which was largely peaceful, barring some incidents of violence.
A three-year-old girl died in Bihar’s Jehanabad district which the BJP alleged was due to delay in find a vehicle to take her to the hospital. However opposition accused the delay in bringing vehicle by state aTrain services were affected in Odisha.
The bandh was called by 21 opposition parties led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi. It was kickstarted at Rajghat where Gandhi offered holy water from his Kailash Mansarovar yatra.
He then accompanied opposition leaders then marched to Ramlila Maidan from Rajghat where he addressed the people
“Narendra Modi ji is silent, he has not spoken a word on rising prices of fuel, or condition of farmers, neither on atrocities against women,” said Rahul Gandhi while speaking in front of a rally in Delhi.
Twenty-one opposition parties are supporting the ‘Bharat bandh’, besides a number of chambers of commerce and traders’ associations.
In states like Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar, Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh life was totally hit by the shutdown, but states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal Tamilnadu and Mizoram remained partially affected.
The BJP dubbed the bandh as an attempt to spread rumour and confusion among the masses and said people will “puncture the grand alliance balloon” floated by the opposition party.
The United opposition parties have demanded that petrol and diesel should be brought under the GST, by which oil prices could drop by about Rs 15 to Rs 18.
