Bandh brings Bihar to halt

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A state-wide bandh in Bihar enforced by the RJD and the LJP on Saturday to protest the fuel price hike and corruption under the Nitish Kumar government shut down most parts of the state largely due to the fear factor associated with the two parties’ workers. Normal life was badly hit.

Both RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his ally, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, courted arrest during the bandh that saw several instances of commoners being manhandled, trains and government officials being stopped forcibly on their ways, and burning of the effigies of prime minister Manmohan Singh and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.
A total of 11,317 people were arrested across the state during the dawn-to-dusk bandh, said Bihar director-general of police Neelmani.
This bandh being a prestige issue for the RJD-LJP combine, Mr Yadav was seen in an aggressive mood as he marched the streets of Patna surrounded by party workers and shouted slogans against both the governments in Bihar and at the Centre.
Despite meagre public support, both Mr Yadav and Mr Paswan described the bandh as a “total success” and demanded a rollback of the oil price hikes.
But the NDA called it a flop show. “The bandh was enforced only by their (RJD-LJP) workers without the common people participating,” said Mr Nitish Kumar.
BJP national spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said: “The RJD’s crocodile tears have already been exposed by its attitude during the NDA-sponsored cut motion in Parliament. They tried to befool Bihar’s people by today’s bandh, but the people proved wiser.”
The DMs of Samastipur and Vaishali, Pankaj Kumar and Minhaz Alam respectively, and a DSP in Samastipur were forcibly prevented by the bandh supporters from attending their offices. Trains were stopped and some passengers beaten up at Chapra and Khagaria, while motorcyclists were frightened by some knife-holding bandh supporters in Katihar.
While the NDA bandh had seen bar girls dancing at Maner to entertain the crowds allegedly at the behest of the JD(U)’s local leaders, the RJD-LJP’s bandh saw a procession of buffaloes with lanterns, the RJD’s poll symbol, tied to their necks.