Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 12-hour shutdown to protest the rise in prices impacted life in several parts of West Bengal on Monday with supporters stopping public transport, damaging private vehicles and blocking important roads.
The dawn-to-dusk shutdown affected life in Kolkata as well as adjoining Howrah district. Police said BJP workers stopped public transport vehicles and demonstrated on Howrah Bridge, disrupting traffic movement during peak office hours.
The movement of trains was also affected. At the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport, pre-paid taxis kept off the roads.
Fourteen BJP activists were arrested for staging a blockade near the busy Rabindra Sadan crossing in central Kolkata and some from Howrah district for staging a sit-in, police said.
The activists also reportedly ransacked various offices at Rajarhat, including in the IT Sector at Salt Lake.
"We've called the 12-hour shutdown in West Bengal protesting the price rise of essential commodities and electricity prices. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government is totally indifferent about these basic issues," BJP state vice president Sabyasachi Bagchi told IANS.
Answering a query on the vandalism by hundreds BJP activists across the state in the name of supporting the strike, he said: "Some bad elements are always there and they create disturbances to common people. We're not supporting it.
"These elements are planted to create trouble to common people during the strike so that the image of our party gets damaged."
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