Bharat Bandh: Mixed response to Left-sponsored demonetisation protest

Amid call for Jan Aakrosh Diwas by the Congress and Bharat Bandh by the Left over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation drive on Monday, emerging ground reports at early hours suggest a mixed from public.

While the CPI(M) workers were seen on the streets of Kolkata forcing shutdown, Samajwadi Party workers were also out on roads in Allahabad.In the wake of the call for shutdown, the Bangalore University had already postponed the semester exams which were to take place on Monday. In Kerala, the schools and colleges remained closed and the college exams have been postponed. However, school buses in Delhi were out on roads in the early hours today. According TV reports, people were seen queuing up near banks to avail banking services in major cities across the city.

In Bihar, train services were affected on Darbhanga-Samastipur rail route as protesters came out on tracks to stop the trains, TV news channels reported. However, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has stayed away from taking any critical view of the demonetisation and seems to have supported the move by the Centre. Nitish Kumar’s support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetisation is in sharp contrast with his ally RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav as both the RJD leaders are against the move.