Bharat bandh over fuel price hike, FDI in retail

Has the bandh exposed a divided opposition?
 Has a lukewarm response to the nationwide bandh deflated the opposition's fight? We debate.

Mamata Banerjee suggests it's game over, Sharad Pawar says she was consulted about FDI
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the government both indicated today that a compromise that would allow her to stay with the ruling coalition has not materialised. Ms Banerjee said that she will meet President Pranab Mukherjee tomorrow "if he gives time" to formally withdraw her letter of support to the ruling UPA, reducing it to a minority. Her exit is in protest against the government's decision to increase diesel prices and allow foreign retail giants to set up shops in India.

Freeze-frame moment of the day: When Mulayam held hands with Left
The freeze-frame moment of today's Bharat bandh so far has been Mulayam Singh Yadav holding hands with the CPM's Sitaram Yechury. He even mentioned those two words a beleaguered Congress would rather not hear right now - Third Front.

Bandh sees lead role for Mulayam, losses of 12,500 crores says industry
Large parts of India where the Congress is not in power were hit today by a strike or bandh against the government's recent decisions to increase diesel prices, and allow Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in multi-brand retail. Industry assocation CII says the strike causes losses of 12,500 crores because of the disruption in production and trade. Mumbai and Delhi remained largely unaffected; Kolkata, Patna and Bangalore were completely shut down.

Mamata Banerjee slams the Left for bandh in Bengal
 

• I congratulate those who came to work. There  is a wave in Bengal that is work-oriented. We are not like the CPM, which will use cadre to enforce a bandh or combat it.
• We do not believe in bandhs. We think bandhs have destroyed West Bengal.
• We have asked our workers to hold protest meetings after office hours.
• We have also opposed the hike in diesel prices and the introduction  of FDI in multi-brand retail.But disruption should not be allowed. We are going to introduce a strict law against such shutdowns.
• We understand the demand is genuine; we have been fighting it. We have quit the government.
• They are bringing out ads, spending crores. But people will not be impressed with ads.
• We took a decision not  to support a bandh, a government should not support a bandh. We understand that the reasons are genuine, so we have not forced anything on the people.
• You have seen what I have put up on facebook; when Pranab Mukherjee was the leader of the House, he had said there would be no decision on FDI without consensus. Forget consensus, they did not even bother to consult us.

 

Mulayam Singh Yadav emerged from the police station surrounded by commandoes, holding hands with the CPM's Sitaram Yechury and said, "What better example of the Third Front coming together?" He meant the leaders walking beside him like AB Bardhan and D Raja of the CPI, Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP and HD Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal (Secular). But Mr Yadav was careful to distance himself from the BJP.  "I am supporting the government to stop communal forces. BJP se hamara koi vaasta nahi hai (We have no relationship with the BJP)." 

NDTV's Tanima Biswas reports - Left leaders, Mulayam Singh Yadav courted arrest at the Parliament St. police station near Jantar Mantar but weren't arrested

Salman Khurshid: This is really the aam aadmi's reforms

BJP President Nitin Gadkari and JDU chief Sharad Yadav seen together here at Jantar Mantar. After speaking here, the two with their supporters headed to Chandni Chowk to address workers there.

Bharat Bandh: Congress vs the rest - Left, BJP, Mulayam fight FDI in retail
Protesters have entered the Parliament Street police station, a short distance away from Jantar Mantar. The leaders, who court arrest, are expected to follow soon.

In a rare show of unity, Communist and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders came together here Thursday to denounce the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail trade. Among others who gathered at the Jantar Mantar protest venue were BJP's Murli Manohar Joshi, Communist Party of India's A.B. Bardhan and Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav. Nearby, supporters of eight political parties including the Samajwadi Party and the Left organised a separate protest on the same issue. After initial reports that he would remain on his home turf of Lucknow to protest against the new reforms introduced by Dr Manmohan Singh, he decided to court arrest in Delhi.

Seen here: Mulayam Singh Yadav with CPM's Sitaram Yechury

Bharat bandh affects normal life in West Bengal
Life in Kolkata and elsewhere in West Bengal was disrupted by a 12-hour bandh called by Left parties to protest diesel price hike, FDI in multi-brand retail and cap on subsidised LPG.

Janata Dal United President Sharad Yadav at Jantar Mantar: This fight will go on till the government is forced to roll back these measures. I congratulate  those who are protesting against the move today.

FDI in retail: Much lies in the fine print
India allowing foreign supermarkets has become a litmus test for investors and credit rating agencies.

Bandh hits life in Karnataka
Normal life was affected in Karnataka on Thursday following the call for nation-wide shutdown to oppose the diesel price hike, cap on subsidised cooking gas cylinders and allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. Many IT firms declared a holiday on Thursday.

Some markets closed, vehicular movement unaffected in Delhi
The bandh called by NDA, Left parties and UPA supporters SP and JD(S) on Thursday evoked a mixed response in the capital with most markets remaining closed while vehicular movement was normal though protesters blocked traffic at some places.

Samajwadi Party workers also gathered at Agra station and blocked trains. Party workers said they were not concerned about the support given to the government but wanted to show  their displeasure at the rising prices.

In Chennai, public transport services are running near normal. Some auto rickshaw unions affiliated with the Left are off the roads. Most traders in the city have downed their shutters. Schools and colleges are functioning normally.

In Bangalore, the impact of the bandh appears partial for now. No official holiday has been declared but many schools are shut. Most buses are off the road, however train services and autos are plying as normal.

Life in the Kolkata is disrupted by the 12-hour bandh called by Left parties to protest diesel price hike, FDI in multi-brand retail and cap on subsidised LPG. Though airport services were normal, train services in the Eastern Railway and South Eastern Railway were disrupted, officials said.

Shops in Mumbai remained closed in the morning. It will be a wait-and-watch situation for the city, on whether shopkeepers and transport on the roads function normally through the rest of the day.

Workers belonging to BJP Yuva Morcha blocking a train at Patna railway station.

Workers belonging to BJP Yuva Morcha blocked 3 trains at Patna railway station, while Samajwadi Party workers stopped a train in Allahabad. In Bihar's Darbhanga area, CPI (ML) workers have stopped the Ganga Sagar Express.

Nearly 5 crore traders and 25 thousand trade associations are observing the bandh demanding rollback of FDI in multi-brand retail.  Schools, colleges, markets and transport services are likely to be affected in most states.

Opposition parties have given a call for a nationwide bandh today to protest the government's reform measures announced last week. The government, taking some politically tough decisions had hiked the price of diesel by Rs. 5 per litre, capped the supply of subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders to six per household and cleared 51 per cent Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in multi-brand retail - reforms, which saw its biggest ally, Mamata Banerjee, pull out of the UPA.