West Bengal bandh silent but powerful: Mamata

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has described the 12-hour bandh sponsored by her party in West Bengal on Monday as a 'silent but powerful protest' against acquisition of farmland at Singur by the Left Front government for the Tata Motors small car project.

'The success of the bandh showed that the people had little confidence in the government. We hope that the government has been able to understand the message of the people,' Banerjee said in a statement in Kolkata.

'What happens when democracy is replaced by autocracy and police attack innocent farmers and peaceful protests,' she asked, in an apparent reference to her eviction by the police from a dharna (sit-in) at Singur in Hooghly district.

Claiming that people spontaneously supported the shutdown, she thanked the Congress and other political parties for extending support.

Eastern Railway sources in Kolkata said train sevices from Howrah and Sealdah were disrupted for some time by bandh supporters, but services were resumed following intervention by the police. A number of long distance trains arrived at Howrah, Sealdah and Kolkakta railway stations as per schedule in the morning, while many long distance trains left for their destinations. Passengers who arrived by long distance trains at Howrah, Sealdah and Kolkata railway stations faced inconvenience due to the lack of taxis and private buses.

Government buses and trams were operational, but very few private buses and taxis were seen on the roads.

Meanwhile, addressing a joint press conference with West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president Subrata Mukherjee at Trinamool Bhavan, senior Trinamool Congress leader Ajit Panja said the response of bandh was 'unprecedented and through it the people had expressed their no-confidence in the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government.'

He said that Trinamool's demand was immediate revocation of all acquisition and the government should instead take nearby land available for the Tata Motors project.

Panja said that TC would observe 'Lajja Divas' (Day of Shame) at Singur on October 15 and organise a Dandi March from Gandhi statue in Kolkata to Singur on October 29.