JOIN USA nationwide bandh called by National Democratic Alliance along with other opposition parties on Thursday affected normal life in many parts of the country, early reports suggest.
BJP Yuva Morcha activists blocked three trains at Patna and Darbhanga, while CPI(ML) workers stopped the Ganga Sagar Express. Samajwadi Party workers staged demonstrations on rail tracks in Allahabad, while similar protests have stopped trains in Bhubaneswar in Odisha.
In Karnataka, buses are off the road while autos are plying scant passengers. Trains are also running on time. There have been no protests so far.
The opposition parties are demanding a rollback of the government's decision to hike diesel prices, cap subsidised cooking gas cylinders and allow foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail.
The government last week hiked diesel prices by Rs.5 per litre, decided to cap subsidised cooking gas cylinders at six per household per year and allowed 51 percent foreign equity in multi-brand retail.
Workers of the Samajwadi Party, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the Communist Party of India, the Telugu Desam Party, the Biju Janata Dal, the Janata Dal-Secular, the All India Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party have announced plans to organise picketing, demonstrations and court arrest, said a CPI-M release.
The government's decision on economic reforms has divided the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.
While UPA ally Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Tuesday announced a decision to pull out of the government, another coalition partner DMK would join the protests against the centre's economic measures.