BENGALURU : Despite the call for a nationwide Bharat bandh by the Congress and its allies, a number of people in Bengaluru, the state and across the country took to social media to protest against the bandh using the hashtag #NoBharatBandh.The hashtag was seen trending on Twitter. A few of them have also posted pictures of shops who have put up signs claiming to be open an extra hour on the day, as a mark of protest.
On Twitter, one handle, Vivekk Ah' Nun @Oyevivekk posted pictures of several shops on September 8, which he claims are against the bandh. Some of the signs in these shops are in Kannada while the rest are in English. “This is the response from Karnataka for Bharat Bandh! Many shops put up posters that they will keep their shops open one hour extra on bandh day!” his tweet reads.
Another tweet by Lily Mary Pinto also shows two pictures, one in Kannada and another in English, of signs in front of shops who also claimed to be open for one hour extra on the day. The tweet came with the hashtag #NoBharatBandh. Another handle, EveningBreeze, also posted two pictures on September 8 with the text, “Response to Bharat Bandh in Namma Bangalore. Many more shops displaying this #NoBharathBandh.”
According to another handle, Sangeeta Pranvendra, shops opposing the bandh was a nationwide phenomenon. She posted a picture of two shops putting up posters in protest against the bandh. “More partial effect of #CongressBharatBandh opposing #PetrolDieselPriceHike #Posters like these visible on shops across several cities asking #Congress why it did not extend support for Sept 6 #BharatBandh by upper castes,” she tweets.However, City Express was not able to verify the authenticity of such claims.