Left Front chairman Biman Bose at the rally. Picture by Amit Datta

Calcutta railed against imperialism of the Leftist kind as the red brigade rallied against imperialism of another nature on Monday, paralysing the city for nearly six hours.

“There is very little that separates the political parties in this state from each other. All of them indulge in disruptive politics. All of them harass the same people who vote them to power,” said Dr Debopratim Mukherjee, headed for his Syed Amir Ali Avenue clinic.

It usually takes him 15 minutes to reach the clinic from his Darga Road home. On Monday, he was stuck for an hour and 15 minutes at one crossing.

It was the third time in less than a fortnight that the city had been brought to a standstill after the Citu bandh on August 20 and the Trinamul blockade on August 29. Residents have also suffered because of Mamata Banerjee blockading Durgapur Expressway, triggering a price rise.

As a sea of Left workers descended on Park Circus and began the long march to Shyambazar, there was scarcely anyone on any thoroughfare who wasn’t affected by the traffic paralysis. Nothing moved on BT Road, Jessore Road, APC Road, Bidhan Sarani and Bhupen Bose Avenue.

Many sufferers vented their ire on Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. “We want to know which is the true face of the chief minister. Now people can see through his hypocrisy,” said banker Natasha Singh, stranded on the AJC Bose Road flyover for over an hour.

Coming from Ultadanga after being caught in a traffic snarl at the Gouri Bari intersection for 45 minutes, MCA student Shaunak Bhattacharya decided around 2.15pm to walk the remaining 1.5 km to his home. “I was with a friend when my mother called to say she wasn’t feeling well. I would have reached in 20 minutes had it not been for this hold-up,” he said.

On his way to office at 3.30pm, Dipankar Ghosh was stranded on Mohanlal Sen Street in Shyambazar.“This is incredible. A few days ago, Trinamul brought the city to a standstill and, now, the Left has added to our woes,” he said.

A pool car with six students from the junior section of Saifee Hall School was stuck in front of Chittaranjan Hospital for over an hour. A couple of them started crying as the minutes ticked away. “I cannot take this heat any more. I want to go home. Who are these people who are blocking the roads?” asked seven-year-old Mustafa Buxawala.

A blockade-weary Calcutta veteran might have answered the kid’s question with a cynical laugh.