BJP-VHP bandh to protest blasts evokes partial response in UP

Lucknow, Nov 24 (UNI) The dawn-to-dusk Uttar Pradesh bandh call today by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Viswha Hindu Parishad (VHP) to protest the serial blasts in three cities of the state yesterday, has evoked partial response so far.

However, bandh supporters tried to obstruct rail and road services in different parts of the state.

The BJP-VHP activists have forced the shopkeepers to down their shutters while they tried to stop trains near the Charbagh station.

However, police officials at the state headquarters here said the bandh was peaceful and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere.

Tension rose in Meerut when some shopkeepers had a tiff with BJP MLA Satya Prakash when the latter was leading a group of protestors forcing closure of the markets.

In Faizabad and Varanasi, the bandh did not evoke any response due to the ongoing bathing on the occasion of Kartik Purnima.

In Allahabad, VHP supporters stopped trains at the Rambagh station while several markets were closed.

In another agitational move, the Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha activists stopped the Lucknow bound Ganga Gomti Express near Prayag station in Allahabad in protest against serial blast.

Meanwhile, BJP national president Rajnath Singh met the injured in hospitals and prayed for their early recovery. He said POTA was the only law which could effectively tackle terrorism.

UNI