Bharat Bandh Today
By Swatilekha Paul, Gaea News NetworkMonday, July 5, 2010
NEW DELHI, INDIA (GaeaTimes.com)- With the aim of showcasing their opposition to the ‘hefty’ increase in the prices of petroleum products by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the opposition parties have called for a nation-wide ‘Bharat Bandh’ today. The 12-hour bandh which has been issued by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Left parties is expected to bring normal life to a complete standstill in cities across the nation on Monday.
Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani has made an appeal to party workers and people in general across the country to express their protests in a peaceful manner and in the process turn it into a huge success which would be instrumental in pointing out the ‘insensitivity of the government.’ However, the left parties have urged the common people to participate actively in today’s ‘Bharat Bandh‘ which according to them, would send a clear message to the UPA government to reconsider its policies and retract the decontrol of fuel prices.
Despite the fact that normal life is likely to be disrupted in a major manner by today’s ‘Bharat Bandh,’ emergency services such as hospitals, water, milk and electricity would be kept outside the purview of the bandh, party officials have stated. Authorities are taking all the necessary steps to ensure that any untoward incident due to the bandh can be avoided during the nationwide strike. Meanwhile, the government has slammed the opposition’s decision to resort to a nation-wide strike, reiterating that ‘Bharat Bandh’ is surely not a solution. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has told the media that under no circumstances a roll-back in the hiked prices would be considered.
