Coimbatore car blast: BJP withdraws bandh on Oct 31

CHENNAI: The BJP’s Coimbatore district unit has decided to withdraw the bandh on October 31, condemning the Tamil Nadu government’s “lethargic approach” over the car blast on last Sunday at Ukkadam in the district.

The district unit has taken the decision a day after state party president K Annamalai told the Madras High Court that “he did not give a call for a bandh” while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Coimbatore based businessman V R Vengatesan.

The district unit has arrived at this decision following representations from various organisations and industrialists for the common good. However, the party leaders were divided on the issue. However, it did not go down well with a section of the party leaders, who wanted to go ahead with the bandh, said sources in the party.

Confirming the party’s decision to call back the bandh, party state general secretary A P Muruganandam told DT Next that the district president of Coimbatore Balaji Uthamaramasamy would soon issue a statement in this regard.

Sources close to the party's national women wing president and MLA of Coimbatore Vanathi Srinivasan have also confirmed it. “It is a collective decision to call for bandh on October 31. Now, the decision has been reversed due to various factors,” said the source and refused to speak further on the issue.