Lukewarm response for Bharat Bandh in BJP-ruled Gujarat

Barring a few places in the state, all the markets, shops, banks, government and private offices, and other commercial establishments functioned normally.

Several rural pockets of Gujarat remained shut on Tuesday, while urban and semi-urban localities were largely unaffected by the 'Bharat Bandh' called by farmer unions over the Centre's new agri laws and supported by the opposition Congress.

Markets, shops, banks, government and private offices and other commercial establishments functioned normally in most parts of the BJP-ruled state.

Though a majority of the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) remained open, no auction of products took place at several mandis as traders and commission agents extended their support to the nationwide shutdown against the three farm laws brought by the Modi government.

Normal life in major cities remained unaffected as transport services were operational.

The BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) functioned as per schedule in Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Surat.

About 5,000 petrol pumps remained open in the state as their associations stayed away from the strike.

"The shutdown call left no major impact in the state. There are no reports of any violence or any other unwarranted incidents.

"Routine life was not affected by the bandh," said an official of the state police control room.

A large number of police personnel was deployed across the state to prevent any untoward incident.

Authorities imposed section 144 of the CrPC, which bans assembly of more than four persons, at several places in view of the Bharat Bandh.

Markets in Kalyanpur town in Devbhumi-Dwarka district, Ranpur in Botad, Jam-Jodhpur of Jamnagar, Nani Devti village near Ahmedabad, Kwant village of Chhotaudepur, Chhani village in Vadodara and some parts of Morbi town remained shut as shopkeepers backed the strike.

A mixed response to the bandh call was seen in Dhrol and Lalpur talukas of Jamnagar district along with Bhanwad taluka of Devbhumi-Dwarka district.

While most of the APMCs remained open in the state, the Congress-controlled market yards in Amreli, Bhatia town of Devbhumi-Dwarka and Wankaner in Morbi were closed.

Over 200 workers of the Congress, including Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani, were detained across the state for either trying to stage demonstrations on roads or forcing shops to down their shutters.

They were detained from cities like Amreli, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Surat, Morbi, Dehgam, Bhavnagar and Modasa, said police.

Congress MLA Vikram Madam, president of the Gujarat Kisan Congress Pal Ambalia along with 10 other party workers were detained while trying to stage demonstrations in Khambhalia town of Devbhumi-Dwarka district.

In Rajkot, some local Congress leaders were taken into custody for attempting to shut shops forcibly, officials said.

Despite heavy police deployment on major roads and highways, protesters blocked four highways in rural Gujarat for a brief period by placing burning tyres on them.

A highway connecting Ahmedabad to Viramgam was blocked near Sanand by workers from the Congress who placed burning tyres on its stretch, causing a traffic jam.

Another group of protesters blocked the Ahmedabad- Vadodara national highway near Chhani village.

Later during the day, police detained some Congress workers for burning tyres on the Ahmedabad-Palanpur highway.

In a similar incident, a highway connecting Bharuch and Dahej in Bharuch district was blocked near Nandelav by protesters.

In Ahmedabad, two motorbikers stopped a city bus near Vijay Crossroads and fled with its keys after threatening the driver, said an official of the Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service.

While the Gujarat Congress termed the bandh a "success", Chief Minister Vijay Rupani thanked farmers for "not joining" the shutdown.

"I had said yesterday itself (that bandh will not be successful). The Congress is showing its double standards.

"People have lost faith in the Congress. Neither people nor farmers are with them," Rupani told reporters in Mehsana.

"The farm laws Congress leaders are opposing were part of the party's manifesto in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"What is the Congress' problem if farmers are getting freedom to sell their produce anywhere? People are not with Congress because the party is anti-farmer.

"I thank people as well as farmers for not believing in false propaganda of the Congress," said the chief minister.

The bandh was called against the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2020.

The three farm laws enacted in September have been projected by the Modi government as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove the middlemen and allow farmers to sell anywhere in the country.

However, the protesting farmers have expressed apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of Minimum Support Price and do away with the mandis, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

The Centre has repeatedly asserted that these mechanisms will remain in place.