Mangaluru: In a bid to protest the rape incidents in the country, especially the rapes of Kathua, Unnao and Surat, traders at central market, labourers and fish docks staged a hartal on Monday.

The hartal was self-motivated as no organization has given a call for the protest. According to sources, the traders have closed their shops by their own.

As a part of the protest preparation, the traders did not order fresh goods for sale. Rather they tried to clear the available stock.  It is learnt that, even for Monday they are not going to order fresh goods.

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Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai on Saturday alleged that the voters were intimidated and threatened by the ruling BJP regime. Rai's remarks came as counting for nine Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh shows a strong performance by the BJP and its ally, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).

“It was already decided in UP that the BJP is fighting the elections with the help of its machinery. The result of that has come out. All the machinery of the government, from police to administration, was deployed. Voters were intimidated and threatened. This is a complete murder of democracy,” Rai said, as reported by Hindustan Times.

According to latest ECI trends the BJP and its ally, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) is performing strongly. Out of the nine Assembly constituencies where bypolls were held, the BJP is leading in five seats—Kundarki, Khair, Ghaziabad, Phulpur, and Majhawan. Its ally, the RLD, is ahead in Meerapur. The Samajwadi Party (SP), however, is not far behind, leading in three constituencies: Karhal, Katehari, and Sisamau.