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New Delhi:
The Left and non-Congress parties have called for a 12-hour Bharat
Bandh on Monday to protest against the hike in fuel prices but the
government has ruled out reconsidering at its decision.
Normal life is likely to be affected
throughout the country though the Opposition parties have promised
essential services like milk, water, hospitals will not be forced to
shut down.
But road transport may suffer. In
Delhi, many school and chartered buses will not run as protestors
are planning to block roads. Also, with many traders' associations
supporting the bandh, shops and markets, are also likely to remain
closed - including many major markets in Delhi.
'Transporters join the strike'
Also, joining the bandh, as many as 62
lakh trucks and other vehicles deployed in India's road transport
sector will be off the roads Monday in support of the nationwide
shutdown to protest against rising prices and the fuel price hike, a
truckers' organisation said.
The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) termed as
"unjustified" the hike in the prices of petrol and diesel.
"It has not only affected the road transport fraternity but also the
common man of the country too," said AIMTC president G.R.
Shanmugappa in a statement.
'Mumbai ready to
tackle the Bandh'
In Mumbai, security is being provided
to buses and suburban trains. Mumbaikars will probably have to pack
their own lunches, as dabbawallas too have joined the strike.
Scores of alleged BJP and Shiv Sena workers allegedly attacked buses
and autorickshaws early on Monday morning. Mumbai Police has
detained several Shiv Sainiks and sent notices to the BJP and
Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena (MNS) leaders on Saturday.
Several video cameras have been installed at prominent locations to
keep a watch on protesters. Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok
Chavan has appealed all the ‘Mantralaya’ employees to report to work
at night to avoid inconvenience.
'Gujarat to protest'
The neighbouring BJP-ruled Gujarat is
going all out to ensure the success of the Monday shutdown call as
part of the party's national programme to protest rising prices and
the fuel price hike. Already party workers have fanned out asking
educational institutions to stay closed and even corporate entities
have been discreetly told to stay shut.
Many schools and colleges across several states have decided to
remain closed due to the bandh.
Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, West
Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are
states which are most likely to be affected by the band as they are
ruled by the Opposition.
Opposition parties in other states
like Tamil Nadu, UP and Andhra are also supporting the bandh.
Most of Opposition parties, excluding
RJD, BSP, LJP and RLD, are participating in the nation-wide strike.
The participating parties are the BJP, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party,
JD-U, CPI-M, CPI, Forward Block, RSP, AIADMK, MDMK TDP, BJD, JD(S),
AGP, Akali Dal and INLD.
On June 25, a ministerial panel, headed by Mukherjee, had lifted the
pricing controls on petroleum. As a result, petrol went up by Rs
3.50 a litre. The government hiked the prices of diesel by Rs 2 a
litre, kerosene - known as the poor man's fuel and
traditionally spared during periodic fuel price hikes - by Rs 3 a
litre and cooking gas by Rs 35 per cylinder.
'Propaganda
War'
Meanwhile, in reply to the advertisements issued by the Congress-led
ruling alliance that appeared in newspapers in last few days
comparing the LPG and Kerosene prices in neighboring countries with
India, the opposition is circulating the prices of petrol via SMSes
and other means.
Stating that all the major oil
companies have registered huge profits, Bharatiya Janata Party
national spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday said petroleum
products in neighbouring countries were far cheaper and accused the
Congress of “pandering to the interests of middlemen and brokers.”
“A glance at the petrol prices in our neighbouring countries reveals
all. Per litre price of petrol in Pakistan is Rs. 26, in Bangladesh
it is Rs.22, while in Nepal it hovers at a reasonable Rs. 34. Even
in strife-ridden Afghanistan, its price is not more than Rs. 33 per
litre. The UPA government should stop burdening the common man with
petrol prices as high as Rs. 53 a litre,” he said.
Addressing journalists on the eve of the Bharat bandh called by the
NDA in protest against the rising prices of petroleum and essential
commodities, Prasad said the Central government had no reason to
hike the petroleum prices on the pretext that oil companies were not
doing well financially.
“Indian Oil has netted profits to the tune of Rs. 4,663 crore for
the 2009-10 fiscal, while Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum
have made robust profits of Rs. 834 crore and Rs. 544 crore
respectively. In fact, all the major oil companies were running in
profit,” he said.
The country had seen the worst inflationary trends under the prime
ministership of Manmohan Singh, he alleged.
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