This refers to your editorial “Open and shut case” (July 6). A bandh is organised hooliganism of political parties. No bandh can claim to have the support of public. It is always forced upon the people without any concern for the huge losses it inflicts upon the country and the inconvenience it causes to the common man. Daily wage earners are deprived of a day’s earnings; street vendors and small shop owners lose a day’s business; passengers miss their scheduled assignments due to cancellation of trains and flights and the industry loses thousands of crores of rupees. A bandh is like fighting the people rather than a fight for the people. The bandh forced by the Opposition against the price rise could neither bring down prices of commodities, nor force the government to roll back the hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG. It was just a show of strength by the BJP and the Left parties. Though the Opposition gained nothing and the Congress party lost nothing, the common man suffered a lot.
M C Joshi, Lucknow
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