Mixed Response to Bihar Bandh Called by BJP
Patna: July 3, 2008
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Mixed Response to Bihar Bandh
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Photo by Anupam Singh |
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Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and workers in Patna on Thursday blocked the road and railway tracks in support of the nationwide bandh called by the BJP, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other right-leaning outfits in Bihar to protest reversion of land transferred to Amarnath Shrine Board.
While the bandh's impact was felt more in some areas than others, in Patna shops near Dak Bungalow crossing and Frazer Road remained closed to avoid any unseemly incident.
Dozens of BJP leaders were taken into custody as party workers burnt the effigies of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for 'playing into the hands of anti-Hindu' forces and for 'trying to cut-off access to the Amarnath shrine - one of the most revered Hindu religious sites - for political expediency'.
Reports of railway traffic being disrupted were received from Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Motihari, and Bhagalpur while movements on various National Highways were also affected due to the day-long bandh.
In many areas, party activists blocked the roads by laying flat on them or, as was seen in Dariapur area, bringing out chairs in the water-logged roads, and sitting on it while refusing to budge despite attempts to remove them by the authorities.
Over 70 activists, including BJP legislator Nitin Navin, were arrested by the police in Patna though most were later freed at their own cognizance.
Students with allegiance to the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also burnt the effigies of the UPA leaders near Gandhi Maidan in Patna demanding immediate reversal of the decision and handing over the properties to the Amarnath Shrine Board to avoid escalation of religious sentiments. |
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