The first day of the 48-hour Bharat Bandh called by trade unions saw 20 crore protesters rally against the ‘repressive’ policies for workers under the Modi government, on Tuesday, 8 January. Farm unions like All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and Bhumi Adhikar Andolan were also participating in the strike.
While hundreds of workers took to the streets demanding minimum wage, social security, etc, there was different protest going on on social media. Twitter was divided between those who supported the cause and those who were opposed to the strike.
Both the Congress and the Left parties tweeted, with #ModiFailsWorkers and #WorkersStrike respectively. Others hit back with #NoToBandh, saying that the workers are carrying out vandalism and violence in the name of ‘bandh’.
Some supporters tweeted pictures of empty streets to prove that the strike was a success.
Then, there were others who tweeted pictures of busy roads to prove that the bandh was not as successful.
Many Twitter users were of the opinion that the strike has not affected most states.
Some claimed the strike propagated “politics of hate, destruction and goondaism.”
Others claimed the bandh caused inconvenience to the common people, and that it is an outdated instrument.
Shobha Karandlaje, General Secretary of BJP Karnataka, said the bandh is a “politically-motivated move by some frustrated elements.”
Opposition leader Sharad Yadav tweeted in support of the bandh.
The strike has, so far, had the most impact in Kerala and West Bengal. The other states received a mixed response to the two day all-India strike.
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