Security breach at Sharad Pawar's house

It is deplorable that the police bandobast outside Sharad Pawar's house, Maharashtra’s tallest leader, failed last Friday to prevent the storming of his house by 100-odd protesting workers of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation. Given that the Home portfolio is held by a senior leader of the NCP in the MVA Government, the breakdown of security arrangement for Pawar, a Z-plus protectee with a mandatory 24x7 20-strong police ring around him, is all the more troubling. The MSRTC workers have been on strike for the last five months. Shouting slogans against the NCP leader, the protesters broke some flower pots and threw footwear in the compound before being rounded up by the police.

That this happened in the heart of South Mumbai is in itself a poor comment on the state of law and order in the metropolis. However, any inquiry ought to probe whether the unusual breach of security was a reflection of the internal tensions among the three constituents of the ruling combine. Antecedents of the trade union leader who is said to have instigated the protesters to storm the compound of Pawar’s house ought to be probed. It was reported that the Sena is unhappy with the NCP’s stewardship of the Home Ministry due to its alleged failure to go after the BJP leaders in cases of alleged wrongdoing. In short, the unfortunate security breach ought to be examined from all possible angles so that there is no repeat in the future.