Bandh: Mulayam Singh, Yeddyurappa, Yechury, Prakash Karat and others court arrest

NEW DELHI: Protesting against both FDI in multi-brand retail and a hike in diesel prices, many politicians including Samajhwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, BJP's BS Yeddyurappa and Ravi Shankar Prasad courted arrest, as a part of the all India bandh on Thursday.

Prakash Karat, A B Bardhan, Sitaram Yechury and Chandrababu Naidu also courted arrest in Delhi. Both Left and NDA leaders conducted parallel rallies at Jantar Mantar in the national capital.

The bandh called by NDA, Left parties and SP evoked mixed response as protestors disrupted road and rail traffic in parts of UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha but it had little impact in Mumbai.

SP and BJP workers staged demonstrations and stopped trains at a number of places in Uttar Pradesh in support of the bandh. Protestors stopped trains in Mathura, Agra, Varanasi, Allahabad and Lucknow as part of their stir while BJP workers and traders blocked the Agra-Gwalior Highway by burning tyres.

Major markets remained closed at a number of places in UP, including the state capital, official sources said here.

Earlier in the day, Ramgopal Yadav, SP General Secretary said, "As of today, we support the Congress-led alliance. But for how long it will continue, I cannot say. What will happen in future will be decided by the party leadership."

Opposition parties and trade unions called the strike after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week announced a raft of reforms designed to revive the slowing economy in a move that has sparked a furious backlash.

Many small business owners and workers fear that the arrival of large-scale supermarket chains will lead to drastic job losses.

In Delhi, most of the markets remained closed and vehicular movement was normal though protesters blocked traffic at some places.

Shops in some areas like Bhogal, Laxmi Nagar, Defence Colony and South Extension in the capital were open in the morning hours but though big markets like Khan Market, Connaught Place, Greater Kailash, Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk and Kashmere Gate were shut.

Auto rickshaws plied in the city and buses of state-run Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) were on the roads in large numbers. At New Delhi railway station, auto drivers staged a protests and refused to carry passengers.

However, most of the private schools in Delhi remained closed.