Price rise: Non-Congress, non-BJP parties mulling over Bharat bandh

The CPI(M) today said non-Congress and non-BJP opposition parties may give a call for 'Bharat Bandh' against price rise and food inflation, with a decision likely to be taken at a meeting in Delhi on April 12.

"Do not be surprised if a Bharat Bandh is called at a meeting of non-Congress and non-BJP opposition parties in Delhi on April 12 to intensify the movement against the UPA government's failure to control price and food inflation," CPI(M) politburo member Biman Bose told a rally here.

"Not a single worthwhile step has been taken so far to check the price rise and food inflation which continues unabated," Bose said.

Meanwhile, thousands of Left Front activists staged demonstrations across West Bengal as part of their nation-wide
agitation to protest the rise in prices of essential commodities.

However, unlike their counterparts in the national capital and elsewhere, the left party activists did not courted arrest in West Bengal. The agitation here was restricted to blockades and picketing before central government offices.

According to the agitators, besides the price rise, the protest in Bengal was also against "privatisation attempts" in the railways and "anti-people policies" of the Centre.