Attempts made to pressurise BEST workers: Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil

Mumbai: Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil warned the authorities against attempts to break the strike by pressurising BEST employees. He also targeted Shiv Sena chief, Uddhav Thackeray, who is on tour of drought-affected Marathwada.

“Sena is ruling the Brihanmumbai Munic-ipal Corporation (BMC) but still Mr Thackeray cannot do justice to BEST workers. How is he going to help farmers in rural areas, ask-ed the Congress leader.

Mr Vikhe-Patil alleg-ed that the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Mr Thackeray and BMC chief Ajoy Mehta had been trying to suppress the BEST strike. “If they try to take any such step, they will have to bear a big loss,” he said.

Mumbai Congress-led Kamgar Sanghatana BEST Employees Union member Nitin Bhaurao Patil informed Mr Vikhe-Patil about the strike. He said that the demands of merging the BEST in BMC, im-plementation of wa-ge agreement and minim-um wages to  BEST em-ployees should be met.

Mr Vikhe-Patil also said that the Sena is threatening the BEST employees to evict the residential houses. “Can it be called democracy,” he asked.