But senior leaders, worried about the severe heat, may not join protest
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has called for a nationwide bandh tomorrow against the rise in petrol price. But senior leaders are concerned as they might not be able to come out in protest because of the excessive heat.
A heat wave has gripped north and east India, where the temperature at most places has climbed above 40 degrees Celsius. Senior BJP leaders, however, said they have spoken to their party units, including those at the block level, to ensure people took part in the bandh in large numbers.
“There are two levels of coordination that happen. The first is at the vertical level where all units of the party are mobilised and people take part in the bandh. The second coordination takes place between different political parties of the NDA in the states. But the problem is severe heat and we don’t know how many people would come out in our support,” said a senior leader.
The NDA was hoping other political parties outside the alliance came out in support of the cause, but that didn’t work out. NDA convener Sharad Yadav, who had announced the bandh, will not be in Delhi to participate in the protest. He would be in Madhepura, his Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar.
“We are trying to persuade people not to open their shops and avoid taking out their vehicles. We want the bandh to be compete,” the BJP leader said. The BJP has another problem; the wedding of the granddaughter of former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa is scheduled to take place in Bangalore tomorrow and most senior BJP leaders would be attending it.
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While rejecting the Union government's suggestion to states to cut VAT (value added tax) on petrol, the Bihar government said it had already reduced the tax by more than two per cent and cannot go further.
“The Bihar government has already reduced VAT rates from 27 to 24.5 per cent. This is lower than the VAT charged by neighbouring states of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh,” said Sushil Modi, deputy chief minister of Bihar. The BJP leader asserted it was impossible for the state government to go below this.
BJP-NDA leaders from Bihar have asked shopkeepers to shut shop tomorrow and most companies have also asked their staff not to come to office.