Mamata Banerjee wants law against bandh

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today asked political parties not to resort to bandhs as a mode of protest and said a legislation is required to counter bandhs, strikes and blockades.

Admitting that Trinamool Congress also resorted to bandhs and blockades in the past, the Chief Minister told the Assembly that this culture should be discarded in the interest of overall development of the state.

Though such protest is a democratic right, Banerjee said it should not be "misused".

The right could very well be exercised by other means without disrupting the development process, she added.

The chief minister had recently expressed anguish at tea-garden workers resorting to strike in north Bengal and said a legislation is required to counter bandhs, strikes and blockades.

Banerjee said her party had discarded the path of bandh two years ago and now she is appealing to all political parties to accept her suggestion.