Mumbai: In a stunner, a large number of agitating employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) made a lightning strike at the private residence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar, and pelted stones and shoes.
Taking the Mumbai Police by surprise, the angry state transport staffers, comprising many women, first staged a noisy demonstration demanding the merger of the MSRTC with the state government, and raised slogans against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), and the Pawars.
Then, a group of employees with many women at the front, were seen rushing towards the high-security Pawar residence in Silver Oaks Building, broke the security barricades, shouted slogans and pelted stones, hurled shoes at their home, while some managed to reach the main door of the house.
Taken aback by the unexpected ‘attack’, NCP MP Supriya Sule, Pawar’s daughter, rushed out right into the midst of the agitating workers crowding there and appealed to them to remain calm, and sit for negotiations.
Pawar, 81, is accorded Z-Plus category security and the unprecedented attack raised questions on possible intelligence failure, particularly since the home department is handled by NCP’s Minister Dilip Walse-Patil.
Ordering the police to submit a report on the incident, Walse-Patil said there could be some “unknown political force of a political party” that was behind the swoop on Pawar’s household, and the government has taken it very seriously.
“They kept womenfolk at the forefront so the police couldn’t take any restrictive measures. We are enquiring into the episode and all those found guilty will not be spared,” said Walse-Patil.
Earlier, Sule repeatedly urged the state transport workers that she was “prepared to sit for negotiations at this minute”, but they were in no mood to listen.
Soon afterwards, a posse of senior police officers rushed there, and brought the situation under control, pushing back the state transport employees who have been on the warpath since the past five months.
The transport staffers’ action — the transport department is held by Shiv Sena Minister Anil Parab, evoked strong condemnation from political circles and the social media.
The MVA leaders blamed one of their leaders Adv. Gunratna Sadavarte for the assault on the Pawar home despite negotiations underway with the government at the highest level.