Bharat Bandh Today, News Updates: Shutdown Called Off, Metros Largely Unaffected, 300 Congress Workers Detained in Assam

The shutdown has been called off, as the Congress and other Opposition parties had decided to observe the bandh only between 9am to 3pm. Metropolitan cities were largely unaffected, with establishments and offices working as usual. In Assam's Tezpur, 300 Congress workers were detained after police suspected them of staging violent demonstrations.

"When crude oil price rises the price of fuel must be raised is microeconomics and I am not in favour of microeconomics as it involves only two persons (buyer and seller) but here the whole economy is involved so it is a macroeconomic (issue)," said BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, adding, "I feel that the macroeconomic price for petrol is Rs 40 and somehow the PM must ask the Petroleum Minister to think as a part of Economic Affairs Ministry and not as Petroleum minister and stop setting prices so high that people can go to the point of revolt."

"The death of the child is not related to bandh or traffic jam, the relatives had left late from their home," Jehanabad Sub-Divisional Officer Paritosh Kumar said.

"Everyone has a right to protest but what is happening today? Petrol pumps and buses being set ablaze, putting to risk lives. A child died after an ambulance was stuck in the protests in Bihar's Jehanabad. Who is responsible," questioned Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

A 2-year-old girl died enroute to the hospital in Bihar's Jehanabad. Her parents could not take her to the civil hospital in time due to the blockade imposed by protesters.

"Frustrated Opposition doesn't have any strategy and leadership, what else can be expected from them? I hope God gives them sense so they can differentiate between positive and negative, otherwise in future they will even lose their position as the Opposition," said UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, adding that there are no takers for the negative politics of the Congress in comparison to the development-oriented vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While addressing the grand-Opposition rally at Ramlila Maidan, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the "BJP government will be uprooted in 2019" for its anti-poor and anti-farmer policies. "Fuel prices are rising, incidents of crime against women are on a rise, farmers are distressed, but not a word from PM Modi," the Gandhi scion added.

The Konark Sun Temple in Odisha has been shut down due to the protests. Although the ruling BJD had not supported the shutdown, the Congress workers in the state succeeded in stalling transport in several parts of Bhubaneshwar and Puri.

A mixed response of the bandh was seen in Uttar Pradesh, with large parts of the state remaining aloof from the protests. Demonstrations were organised in parts of UP by Samajwadi Party workers. including Ghaziabad, Noida and Azamgarh. Congress MLA Aradhna Shukla led a procession which demonstrated at a petrol pump in Lucknow's Hazratganj. Notably, the BSP was missing in action at all protest sites.

Congress workers are on a rampage in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, with protests being organised in major towns and cities including capital Bhopal, Indore, Sagar, Ujjain, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Bhind.

Launching a scathing attack at the Centre, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the "Narendra Modi government is the most corrupt" regime the nation has ever seen. Yadav claimed that the GST and demonetisation were not callous move, but a "conspiracy" to allow a section of corporates, including foreign players to take advantage.

Former Maharashtra chief minister Congress state unit president Ashok Chavan was arrested by the Mumbai Police for leading a protest at Andheri railway station today. Earlier, the police had taken into custody Congress leaders Sanjay Nirupam and Manikrao Thakre.

Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was sent by the Kejriwal-led party to join the grand-Opposition rally being led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the Ramlila Maidan, to oppose the rocketing fuel prices.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has blamed the "callous governance" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the skyrocketing prices of petrol and diesel. "Fuel prices allowed to soar, by a callous govt, making lives of ordinary Indians impossible. Most appropriate that Modi photos are at all petrol stations. But People paying for the Rs 4343 cr spent on these farzi ads. Shameful," said CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Members of Sharad Yadav's Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) carried bikes on their shoulders to protest the rocketing petrol prices.

"Modi government has done a number of things that were not in the interest of the nation. The time to change this government will come soon," former prime minister Manmohan Singh at Congress and opposition parties' rally against fuel price hike.

Metro services were briefly affected after Congress workers briefly staged a rail roko at Andheri's DN Nagar station. The tracks have now been reportedly cleared. The line was reportedly suspended for 10-15 minutes. For Full Report on Mumbai Bandh Updates, Read Here.

East Coast Railway Zone has cancelled 12 trains including Bhubaneswar-Howrah Jan Shatabdi Express and Bhubaneswar-Visakhapatnam Inter City Express in the view of Bharat Bandh, reported news agency ANI.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress' ex-chief Sonia Gandhi have arrived at the Ramlila Maidan where Rahul Gandhi is leading the Opposition protest against the central government. A total of 21 parties, including the Left Front, are actively participating in the shutdown.