Bharat bandh over FDI in retail and diesel price hike

Opposition parties have given a call for a nationwide bandh today to protest the government's reform measures announced last week. The government had hiked the price of diesel by Rs. 5 per litre, capped the supply of subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders to six per household and cleared 51 per cent Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in multi-brand retail - reforms.

New Delhi: Bhartiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari and JD-U President Sharad Yadav hold up a cartoon about the government's decision to increase diesel prices and allow FDI in multi-brand retail.

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav holds hands with Sitaram Yechury of Communist Party of India (Marxist), as they walk to Parliament Street police station to demand to be detained.
New Delhi: The beginning of a new alignment? Mulayam Singh with Prakash Karat
Delhi: Protests against FDI in retail gather momentum at Jantar Mantar. This poster says it all.

Patna: Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad expresses solidarity with the people by protesting against the government's reforms on a cycle.
Mumbai: The first signs of traffic become visible and the number of vehicles are likely to increase as the day progresses.
BJP MP Navjyot Sidhu conducts 'last rites' of LPG cylinder in Amritsar as part of Bharat Bandh protest.

Mumbai: While MNS supports FDI in retail, BJP and Shiv Sena are opposed to it.
Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party activists shout slogans as they are detained by police.
Mumbai: Public transport, malls, markets all other services are likely to function as usual. Schools and colleges also will stay open in Maharashtra.

BJP activists carry a cutout of a cooking gas cylinder during a protest.

Meanwhile, the MNS and Shiv Sena had said that they would not enforce the nationwide strike in the state because of the ongoing Ganpati festival in the state.
Workers belonging to BJP Yuva Morcha blocked 3 trains at Patna railway station.
BJP workers have been forcefully closing down shops in Patna in widespread protest.
Right from early morning protests have begun in Uttar Pradesh. Samajwadi Party workers started by stopping a train in Allahabad.
Allahabad: People are seen burning effigies. Their outrage stems from the government's decision to hike the price of diesel by Rs 5 per litre.
Allahabad: A Samajwadi Party activist shouts slogans during a protest along railway tracks.

Angry opposition workers have disrupted train services as part of a daylong strike in India to protest rising diesel prices and the government's decision to open the country's huge retail market to foreign companies.
Allahabad: Policemen arrive as Samajwadi Party activists block trains during a protest along railway tracks.
Nearly 5 crore traders and 25 thousand trade associations are also observing a bandh demanding rollback of FDI in multi-brand retail.
Kolkata, long-practiced at bandhs, presents desolate streets. Shops, school and colleges are closed, and only a few buses are on the roads.
Kolkata: Protestors clashed with each other leading to their arrest by cops.
Its' business as usual in the national capital and the public transport is running smoothly so far.
Bangalore: Karnataka, meanwhile, has seen partial effect of the bandh call so far. While buses are off the road, autos are plying.
Jammu is taking the bandh seriously. Here a cop stands guard outside a closed shop.
Jammu: BJP activists shout slogans as they burn tyres during a nationwide strike.
Patna: Protesters tried to target trains and bus stations
A lone rickshaw braves the deserted streets and shuttered shops in Lucknow.
Kolkata: Train services were disrupted for a brief period in the morning but are running smoothly now.