JD(U)’s ‘Bihar bandh’ on spl status demand affects life

The JD(U)-sponsored 'Bihar bandh' on special status demand, on a holiday, evoked good response on Sunday paralysing normal life as protesters took to streets disrupting road and rail services.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar led from the front calling upon people to fight for their dignity.

Enthusiastic JD(U) workers took to streets from early morning forcing closure of shops and market establishments in the districts.

The partymen blamed Centre for ignoring the legitimate demand for special status to Bihar at a time it granted ‘similar incentives to Seemandhra within 24 hours of carving out last week’.

The protesters burnt tyres to block vehicular traffic on busy streets in Patna and the districts and prevented movement of dozens of trains, railway sources said.

Some JD(U) supporters in the state capital stormed into the 'Jai Prakash Narayan International Airport' demanding closure of the ticket counter in support of their agitation against discrimination to Bihar, airport sources said.

Hundreds of intermediate examinees were a harried lot as they failed to catch trains for their examination centre in the districts.

There was no no incident of violence reported from anywhere in Bihar, police sources said. The chief minister later claimed that the shutdown on the special status demand was fully successful as the people participated in the agitation ‘in a voluntary manner.’ 

However, the opposition BJP and RJD pooh-poohed the ruling party’s claim saying the shutdown failed to catch the attention of the people. Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Nandkishore Yadav said in a statement, ‘The JD(U)’s bandh was no more than a ‘political stunt’ by the chief minister who wanted to hog limelight and make the special status demand an issue for electoral dividends in the general elections later this year.’ 

The chief minister and his party were not confident about success of the bandh and so they had scheduled it for Sunday, a holiday, on which people prefer to stay indoors, Yadav said.

And contrary to Kumar’s claim for peaceful bandhs, his party workers were seen brandishing weapons to force the people to join the agitation under patronage of the police, he alleged.