India shuts down,Left 038; Right

<B><font color="cc000"><B>The Bharat Bandh</B></font></B> called by the NDA and Left parties on Monday to protest against the hike in fuel prices disrupted normal life across the country,shutting down shops and hitting public transport. A look at how some of the states responded to the strike <B>Maharashtra: </B>Normal life was affected across the state,although the MNS and Shiv Sena cadres did not show their trademark agression on the streets. A few stone-pelting incidents,in which public transport buses were damaged,were reported from Mumbai and Pune. Shiv Sena spokesperson Subhash Desai claimed the bandh was successful in the state. <B>Uttar Pradesh:</B> Senior BJP and SP leaders were arrested while several party workers were injured in clashes with police during the bandh. In a bid to prevent BJP workers led by Arun Jaitley and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi from marching towards Vidhan Sabha Marg in Lucknow,the entire area was barricaded by the police. But the protesters crossed the barricade and clashed with the police. Several protesters were arrested. <B>Rajasthan:</B> Schools,colleges,business establishments,malls and cinemas remained closed in all cities. Though normal life was disrupted,the bandh remained peaceful. Former CM Vasundhara Raje and state BJP chief Arun Chaturvedi,with a host of party leaders led a demonstration and courted arrest in Jaipurs walled city area. The bandh was in effect in Udaipur,Bharatpur,Kota and Jodhpur too. <B>Himachal Pradesh:</B> The state saw a complete shutdown. Roads leading to Shimla were blocked for some time and the work at hydro-power projects was also struck throughout the day. Private schools remained closed and government schools saw low attendance. Emergency services like hospitals,however,were not affected. <B>Karnataka:</B> With the BJP government supporting the bandh,life in Karnataka remained largely paralysed. In Bangalore,public transport remained off the roads,schools declared a holiday and IT offices issued advisories to employees to work from home. The BJP stalled proceedings in the Assembly over the price hike,resulting in the adjournment of the days proceedings. <B>Andhra Pradesh:</B> TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu was arrested in Hyderabad while staging a protest as part of the bandh,which affected transport services in some parts of the state. Workers of Opposition parties staged sit-ins in front of some bus depots in Khammam,Nalgonda,Ranga Reddy and Kadapa districts disrupting bus services. However,train services in the state remained unaffected. All schools,colleges and universities in Hyderabad remained closed. <B>Gujarat:</B> The bandh was effective with most schools,colleges and business establishments remaining closed and public transport services getting disrupted. The bandh remained largely peaceful,except a couple of stone pelting incidents in Surat city. Public transport means like autorickshaws and bus service run by the municipal corporation remained off the roads. <B>Chhattisgarh: </B>The bandh disrupted normal life in BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh. Roads wore a deserted look; educational institutions,cinema halls and petrol pumps remained closed. The bandh was a total success in other parts of the state including Bilaspur,Rajnandgaon,Raigarh,Durg and Jagdalpur districts. <B>West Bengal: </B>The bandh in the Left-ruled state was a total success. The CPM thanked the people for making the bandh a success while the BJP said the UPA governent should take this bandh as a referendum and roll back the prices of fuel. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said while her party had opposed the bandh it supported the issue for which the bandh was called. While all shops and offices remained closed,public transport was off the roads. Several trains were cancelled. <B>Tamil Nadu:</B> The bandh evoked a lukewarm response with public transport,educational institutions,the banking sector and other business establishments functioning normally. The bandh,supported by the states main opposition party AIADMK and its allies,did not affect normal life. The state government had warned of stringent action against those indulging in violence and damaging public property. <B>Kerala:</B> Normal life was disrupted during the bandh,the second shutdown observed by the state over the fuel price hike in 10 days. Shops remained closed and buses,taxis and autorickshaws kept off the roads. Police said no violence was reported. <B>Madhya Pradesh:</B> The bandh given by the ruling BJP was largely successful. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj,who was in Bhopal,said the UPA government was insensitive and accused it of profiteering at the expense of common man by raising prices of petroleum products,twice in four months. She justified the bandh,saying it was the only option to move the government. <B>Bihar: </B>The state witnessed almost total bandh with train and bus services disrupted. Interestingly,workers of ruling allies JDU and BJP clashed in Patna and Bhagalpur over Narendra Modis posters. JDU MP Monajir Hasan was peeved at BJP workers shouting Narendra Modi zindabad in his presence in Patna. He later said CM Nitish Kumar should sever ties with the BJP. In Bhagalpur,workers of both parties clashed after the JDU objected to BJP workers carrying Modi posters. <B>Assam:</B> Normal life was affected across Assam. While vehicular traffic remained off the roads,train services were also severely disrupted. Nine long-distance trains between Assam and West Bengal were cancelled,while several long-distance trains were rescheduled. <B>Northeast:</B> Life was normal in Tripura as the CPM-led ruling Left Front did not take part in the bandh because it had observed a shutdown on the same issue on June 28. Life in Arunachal Pradesh also remained unaffected. The BJP had earlier announced it would demonstrate against the fuel price hike,but called it off because of the Dree festival of the Apatani tribes which fell on Monday. The bandh also did not have any impact in Mizoram and Meghalaya.