'Bharat Bandh' an attempt to spread rumour: BJP

The BJP Monday dubbed the 'Bharat Bandh' call given by the Congress and several other parties as an attempt to spread rumour and confusion among the masses and said people will "puncture the grand alliance balloon" floated by the main opposition party.

Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi took on the Congress, saying it has been a "history-sheeter" on the issue of price rise whenever it was in power and is now shedding crocodile tears.

Accusing the opposition party of tying to create a "negative atmosphere" in the country since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in May 2014, he wondered if some "invisible hand" gave "supari" (contract) to destroy the progress India has made.

"The Congress is a cruise of corruption and whichever party joins it will sink with it," he said, adding this is the reason several opposition parties have kept away from the 'Bharat Bandh' call given by the opposition party.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over in May 2014 inflation hovered around 11 per cent and he has now brought it down to around four per cent with his policies and honest work, Naqvi said, expressing the hope that it will come down further.

The Congress and several parties have given a call for 'Bharat Bandh' to protest the rise in the prices of petrol and diesel.

"Through violence and anarchy it is trying to spread rumour and confusion among the masses," Naqvi said.