Supporters of different parties spilled on the streets and staged protests during the Bharat Bandh called on Thursday by the NDA, Left parties and UPA supporters SP and JD(S) to oppose the decisions on allowing FDI in multi-brand retail sector, `5 hike in diesel price and a cap on LPG cylinders.
The leaders of many political parties led the protest at Jantar Mantar and later courted arrest. Almost all the market associations supported the bandh as Sarojini Nagar, Karol Bagh, Lajpat Nagar and Old Delhi markets remained closed. Traders’ union leaders strongly opposed the Union government’s decision of allowing FDI in retail sector and burnt effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Shops in Bhogal, Laxminagar, Defence Colony and South Extension were open in the morning.
However, transport services in the city remained practically unaffected though protesters blocked traffic at some places.
Although, the streets wore a deserted look, the protest did not affect vehicular movement and DTC buses were on roads in large numbers.
Autorickshaws plied in the city, although auto drivers staged a protest at the New Delhi Railway Station and refused to ferry passengers.
“We are not forcing auto drivers to participate in the bandh. We said whosoever wants to support the bandh should not ply their auto or taxi. Over 50 per cent of the auto drivers are supporting us,” Rajendra Soni of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh told reporters here.
The Delhi BJP leaders accompanied by party activists staged protests at around 160 locations in the city as senior leaders claimed that the bandh was a “total success”.
Chief minister Sheila Dikshit said the bandh call did not have any impact in the city and expressed gratitude to Delhiites for not responding to it.
“People of Delhi are mature enough to understand the ill effects of bandh,” she said.
She said people did not respond to the bandh call as they knew the political parties were trying to derive mileage out of a “non-issue”.
“The attitude of Delhiites has always remained constructive. They keep themselves aloof from the efforts of political parties to derive political mileage. Bandh is never a solution to any problem,” she said.
Most private schools in the city chose to remain shut on Thursday as a precautionary measure even as some were open.
The protest scene left many children bewildered and scared.
“I felt safe in school premises but after the school, I saw people shouting slogans on the road, it scared me,” said Aakash Kapoor, a Class 8 student of a renowned school in west Delhi.
Some students saw FDI bringing more opportunities for them on the job front.
“FDI will bring in good jobs for us, then why are the Left parties against this?” probed an MBA aspirant Ankur Sharma.
Parents and guardians were apprehensive to send their wards to schools, fearing that protesters may go wild.
“We did not want our ward to be in trouble. The activists go wild during protests and care least about people,” said Sneha Parikshit, a guardian.
Though the Delhi Metro services and DTC buses were unaffected by the bandh, many college students opted to play safe and stayed at home on Thursday.