Agartala, Feb 12 (IANS) The nationwide shutdown called by several central trade unions on Thursday failed to evoke much response in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Tripura, with normal life largely unaffected across the state.

A police official said that daily activities remained normal in most parts of Tripura.

Around 225 bandh supporters were detained from different districts for organising picketing and were later released.

No untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the state, the official added.

In Agartala, a rally was organised by the CPI-M and its trade union wing, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), in support of their demands and shut down.

Former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Leader of the Opposition and State CPI-M Secretary Jitendra Chaudhury, and CITU State President and former Minister Manik Dey led the protest rally, which passed through various parts of the capital city.

Terming the Bharat Bandh “total and successful” in Tripura, Chaudhury, who is also a CPI-M Politburo member, claimed that people from all sections spontaneously observed the shutdown despite alleged threats by BJP members and activists to traders and vehicle operators to continue business.

Rejecting these claims, Chief Minister Manik Saha said that there was no response at all to the bandh in Tripura.

Shops, markets, government and private offices, banks, and educational institutions functioned normally, while attendance in government offices remained largely unaffected.

“CPI-M’s bandh politics has been rejected by the people as it directly hampers traders, poor people and others,” the Chief Minister told the media.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and the Bharatiya Janata Mazdoor Sangh also organised rallies opposing the shutdown.

More than 10 Central Trade Unions, including the CITU, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), Labour Progressive Federation (LPF) and United Trade Union Congress (UTUC), along with several independent organisations representing banks, insurance, and state and Central government employees, had called the nationwide strike.

The strike was organised to protest what the unions described as the Union government’s “pro-corporate, anti-worker and anti-farmer” policies.

The trade unions demanded the repeal of the four labour codes enacted by the Central government.

They also opposed the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB–G RAM G), which replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) introduced during the Congress-led UPA government, besides raising various other labour- and farmer-related issues.

–IANS

sc/khz