Kolkata: The ‘good’ response from the people of West Bengal to the daylong nationwide general strike on Thursday was a boost to the Left Front, especially after their decent result in the recent Bihar polls.
West Bengal was transported back to the mid and late ’90s when the dreaded call for ‘Bangla bandh’ would result in a complete ‘lockdown’ of sorts. A major section of people chose to stay indoors on Thursday, while commuters who ventured out for work and business were heckled by supporters of the bandh in Kolkata and some districts.
Passengers were forced out from buses at some places, while some bus owners got into a scuffle with bandh supporters.
Groups of people gathered outside different Metro Railway stations to stop commuters from getting in. Police had to intervene to bring the situation under control at some places.
Youths were seen playing cricket and football on empty roads road around Jadavpur University.
The general strike was called by 10 central trade unions and supported by Congress and the Left parties.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that she principally supports the cause of the bandh but is against any strike which affects common people.
The Left Front claimed that the strike was well received by the people.
“Many of our comrades have been arrested in the districts but the call to observe the strike was well received by general public across villages and cities. The impact of the strike has been felt in factories, mills and everywhere. It has broken many records of the past,” CPM state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said.
Politburo member Md Salim said he was impressed by the spontaneous response of the youth, who came out in “large numbers to support the bandh.”
Like the Left, the Congress also hailed the “massive response” to the bandh and called it “historic”.
