Jamshedpur, May 11: The BJP district unit has issued a dawn-to-dusk Jamshedpur bandh call tomorrow in protest against the government’s decision to transfer two senior district administrative officials over the May 9 Ganesh Puja Maidan fiasco.

Senior officials, Nitin Madan Kulkarni and Ranjan Chowdhury were removed from the posts of East Singhbhum deputy commissioner and sub-divisional officer (Dhalbhum), respectively, and asked to report to the Ranchi headquarters, vide a notification issued by the personnel department late on Saturday night.

While BJP called the bandh this morning after burning an effigy of chief minister Madhu Koda at Shaheed Chowk in Sakchi, Congress, one of the alliance partners of the UPA government, too called a bandh following a meeting of the district unit of the party this evening.

The Congress too burnt an effigy of the chief minister at the same venue in the evening.

“JMM is giving rise to goondaism. The act of forcibly installing Sunil Mahto’s statue at Ganesh Puja Maidan on May 9 was a sheer act of goondaism and violation of law. Instead of taking action against JMM, the UPA government issued transfer orders against the administrative officials, which was an undemocratic step. BJP vehemently opposed this and hence, called for a bandh tomorrow,” said Amarpreet Singh Kale, the state executive member of BJP.

Substantiating his views, the district BJP president Binod Singh said instead of encroaching the Ganesh Puja Maidan for installing Sunil Mahto’s statue, the party (JMM) should have taken the initiative of installing a statue at Baguria, the place where Sunil Mahto was killed by Naxalites.

“We strongly oppose the transfer orders of administrative officials who were doing a good job in ensuring law and order. During the bandh we would take to the streets and close shops and other business establishments,” said Singh.

The district BJP also took out a torchlight procession from the Jail Chowk which after traversing through various parts of the city culminated at the Sakchi roundabout.

Despite being an coalition partner Congress too went ahead in declaring a Jamshedpur bandh tomorrow. “The deputy commissioner and the sub-divisional officer were removed in an undemocratic manner. The UPA government took the step under pressure from JMM. The government’s act of transferring two senior officials will, in turn, boost the morale of unscrupulous persons,” said Ravinder Jha, the president of East Singhbhum District Congress Committee.

Jha said during the bandh, party supporters would obstruct the movement of public transport and would also ensure that educational institutions and business establishments remain shut.

Meanwhile, the district administration has decided to post policemen in large numbers at strategic locations in Jamshedpur keeping in view the bandh.