The nationwide call of Opposition-sponsored 'Bharat Bandh' against rising fuel prices evoked a mixed response in Punjab, Haryana and Union Territory Chandigarh Monday.
There was no report of any untoward incident in both the states.
Congress workers, however, held demonstrations and took out protest march at several places as part of the 'Bharat Bandh' call.
They also burnt effigies of the Centre against the spiralling fuel prices.
In the morning, shopkeepers and traders at some places in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh kept the shutters down.
There were also reports that markets and commercial establishments in Ludhiana, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Hisar and some other places remained open despite the bandh call.
Congress workers led by local leaders took out protest march through bazaars in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, and requested shopkeepers to close their shops in support of the party's nationwide bandh call.
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Sufficient security arrangements were made by police to prevent any untoward incidents.
In Chandigarh, former railway minister and Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal led the protest march against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government for the spiralling prices of petrol and diesel.
"Common man has been looted by the BJP government at the Centre during its four and half year regime. Every section of the society is suffering because of spiralling fuel rates. This government is working only for the welfare of few rich people in the country," he said.
Though the Chandigarh Congress unit claimed that the bandh call had public support, local BJP MP Kirron Kher said there was no impact of the protest in the city. She also posted a video of the markets on Twitter, saying all the shops and markets were open.
"There is no impact of the bandh call of Congress. The vehicular traffic remained uninterrupted. All the offices and schools are open in Chandigarh," Kher claimed.
In Punjab, Congress workers, carrying placards, held demonstrations at several places including Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Gurdaspur and Morinda.
Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, who was leading the protest in Jalandhar, said the Centre had turned a "blind eye" to the sufferings of common man who had been severely hit because of a "consistent" increase in rates of petrol and diesel.
"The way the prices of petrol and diesel are going upwards, the days are not far when it will cross the Rs 100 per litre mark," he said.
The Gurdaspur MP also called upon people to root out the BJP government during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In Ludhiana, cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu led the protest. They took out the protest march in the city on a rickshaw at Clock Tower Chowk and lambasted the BJP government for rising fuel prices.
In Patiala and Mohali, cabinet ministers Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Balbir Singh Sidhu led party workers in holding demonstration against the ruling BJP over increased fuel rates.
In Haryana also, Congress workers took out protest march and held demonstrations at Ambala, Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Rohtak and Panipat.
Haryana Congress MLAs led by former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda took out a protest march in Chandigarh against the hike in fuel prices.
"Rising fuel prices has hit ordinary man. It has also come as a blow to farmers who depend upon diesel for farming activities," he said.