Bharat Bandh Live Updates: Rahul Gandhi says we will defeat Modi govt in 2019

The 'Bharat bandh' against the rising fuel prices called by the Congress and the Left parties severely affected normal life in Manipur, as all educational institutes were closed and attendance in offices was very thin

According to News 18 reports, Congress MLC Prem Chandra Mishra, who was leading a demonstration elsewhere, said, "Such unruly behavior must not take place. Our party leadership has made it clear that the bandh ought to be totally peaceful.

" BPCC working president Kaukab Qadri told a TV channel at the Dak Bungalow crossing "BJP-RSS workers, in the guise of bandh supporters, are in action at many places to give us a bad name."

Normal life was paralysed in Odisha as the Congress and other opposition parties observed a Bharat Bandh against the rising fuel prices on Monday.

Hundreds of Congress activists were arrested following protests at several places including the state capital Bhubaneswar.

Vehicular movement came to a halt across the state as Congress workers resorted to road blockades at various junctions. Passengers were stranded at major bus stands across the state.

Train services were also affected due to the nationwide shutdown. Congress workers staged rail roko at several railway stations including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, Rourkela, Balangir and Bhadrak.

Congress leaders and workers held protests across Punjab on Monday following the Bharat Bandh call given by the Congress party against the rising fuel prices.

The protests were held in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Bathinda, Ferozepur and other towns across Punjab.

In Ludhiana, the protest was led by MP Ravneet Singh Bittu. He said that the Central government has failed to deliver on any of the promises made to the people in the 2014 general elections.

Fuel prices have affected the lives of everyone, especially the common man, he added.

Altogether 58 Congress activists were Monday taken into police custody in Jharkhand for forcibly trying to enforce the 'Bharat Bandh' called by the party, a police officer said.

Fifty eight Congress activists including Palamau district Congress president Jaias Ranjan Pathak were taken into custody for forcibly trying to enforce the bandh, Superintendent of Police Inderjeet Mahata said.

Barring Garhwa district, normal life is not affected in Pakur, Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Lohardaga, Gumla, Ramgarh, Giridih, Latehar, Palamau, Dhanbad and other districts, according to reports.

The dawn to dusk Bharat Bandh or nationwide shutdown called by the Congress and supported by many parties evoked a mixed response in Jharkhand on Monday.

The Congress shutdown has been supported by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik and Left parties in the state.

In Ranchi, schools and a few shops were closed, long route buses were not plying and the district administration has imposed prohibitory orders.

A day-long Bharat Bandh or nationwide shutdown called by the Congress and Left parties to protest rising fuel prices evoked mixed response in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.

In Jammu, Congress activists protested in RS Pura area while shops, public transport, businesses and educational institutions functioned normally in the city.

A state-wide shutdown called by Kerala's ruling Left and the Congress-led opposition to protest rising fuel prices, was observed on Monday.

While public vehicles remained off the roads in the state, private vehicles were seen plying in many places, while shops, markets and establishments remained shut.

In Kollam, Congress workers protested outside the Head Post office, demanding that it should be closed.

In the state capital, the IT campus at Technopark is functioning and the ISRO units are also working as normal.

There was a complete shutdown in Kasargode, the town that shares a border with Karnataka, as interstate buses kept off the roads.

While the Congress workers are out on the streets, the ruling Left supporters appear to maintain a low profile and have stressed that relief operations in flood-affected areas will go on unaffected.

Banks and commercial establishments were largely opened while shops in some towns of Himachal Pradesh were closed on Monday on the protest call by the Congress over the rise in fuel prices.

Most of the opposition parties announced their support to the Bharat Bandh called by the Congress and Left Front to protest against the rising fuel prices. The Modi government has so far evaded a direct explanation to the non-stop rise in fuel prices.

The Congress wants petrol and diesel to be brought under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which would decrease the price "by Rs 15-18 per litre". It also wants an immediate reduction in central excise duty and "excessive VAT" in states.

While parties like the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), DMK, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Maharshtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) backed the shutdown, the Left has also declared a nationwide hartal.

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), a non-NDA party, said although it is against the fuel price hike, it will not support the Bandh. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took a similar stand in Delhi.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) ruling in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana respectively, are also not supporting the call.

In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has said it supports the issues raised by parties that have called for a nationwide shutdown, but it is against strikes since these lead to loss of working hours.

However, the party will hold protest rallies across West Bengal against rising fuel prices.

"We support the issues raised by them. But at the same time, we do not want to waste another working day, especially when our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is trying to build a new Bengal," TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee has said.

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Opposition supports Congress call for Bharat Bandh to protest fuel price rise