Telangana News

Protesting against the demonetization, the opposition has called for Bharat Bandh today. Only the Left Front, which has a presence in Kerala, Bengal and Tripura, has called for a strike in the three states.

On the contrary, most of the opposition parties stayed away from the bandh, in view of the huge costs involved, which according to the business lobby FICCI, can be Rs. 13,000 crore a day. The Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party said they do not want a strike but will hold protests across the country, naming it "Jan Aakrosh Diwas".

Reacting to the issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi went against the oppositions, asking whether it was preferable to put a stop to corruption and black money or shut down the country. 

The Congress hit back, saying it has not called for a Bharat bandh. "Misinformation has been spread by the BJP which is ill-informed," said senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

"Knowing the popular support to demonetization, Congress has changed its tactics from calling for a countrywide bandh to Aakrosh rallies. It is clear that all this is aimed at finding space in the media as they have clearly lost out space in the debating forum of Parliament and the minds of the people," said Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu.