No Buses, Mumbai Commuters Stranded Amid Maharashtra Bandh: 10 Points

The shutdown is "being observed peacefully" amid widespread support, Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik said today, but he added that "some incidents of people throwing stones were reported". "The coalition's bandh call has received support from Left, some other parties and trade unions. The bandh is being observed peacefully," he said. 

Demanding the resignation of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, whose son Ashish has been arrested over farmers' killing in UP, Mr Malik said: "We demand the resignation of Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra." On bandh, he made an appeal: "There are reports about people throwing stones at some places, which is not right. No one should indulge in such activities."

The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government -  comprising the Shiv Sena, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP - announced the bandh at a joint press conference on Sunday. Today, Shiv Sena workers were seen in Thane, patrolling streets and stopping autos. In Mumbai, buses largely remained off roads. 

The state government said on Sunday everything would be closed except for essential services. The Agricultural Produce Market Committee or subzi mandi is also shut. Shiv Sena workers were seen patrolling the streets in Thane and stopping the autos amid the shutdown.

The Mumbai Police have made a plan to ensure people are not inconvenienced. Policemen are deployed at strategic points. Three companies of the Central Reserve Police Force, 500 Home Guards and 700 from other forces are helping the Mumbai Police in maintain law and order. "Local trains are operating on their regular schedule, so you can plan your day accordingly," Mumbai Police tweeted this morning. 

A union of traders in Maharashtra that earlier objected but later decided to support the bandh. "After the request of Shiv Sena and other party leaders, we have decided to keep shops closed till 4 pm in support of the shutdown call," Viren Shah, chief of Federation of Retail Traders' Welfare Association (FRTWA), said in an amended statement on Sunday.

The traders' union had earlier said they are only limping back to business after intermittent lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the bandh would hit their earnings. "We have suffered huge losses for the past 18 months due to lockdown. Our business is slowly picking up. In middle of the festival season when customers have started coming out to shop, let us do our business peacefully. We hope that shopkeepers are not harassed or forced to remain shut," Mr Shah had said.

The traders appear, however, to be stuck in a political crossfire, as the BJP has said it will not allow "forced closure of shops" to support the bandh. "If shopkeepers are forced to close shops tomorrow by any of the MVA karyakartas, they will have to face BJP karyakartas. Police should ensure no one is forced or else there will be a law and order situation, which is not our responsibility," Maharashtra BJP leader Nitesh Rane tweeted.

Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra had been named in a police case filed by farmers who said he drove into a gathering of slogan-shouting demonstrators amid a peaceful black-flag protest last Sunday.

Ashish Mishra was produced before a court on Saturday night, days after intense pressure build up on police inaction even after a murder case was filed. The Supreme Court had also pulled up the UP Police for not doing their job properly.