Mumbai: Six days after workers of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) called for a strike and with no solution in sight, the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), which until now, had kept away from the strike, has threatened to unleash violence in Mumbai.MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said, if the leaders, BEST and civic body do not reach a solution in support of the workers by Monday, they will teach the authorities a lesson in ‘true MNS-style.’
Deshpande told The Free Press Journal, “This is the official stand of the party.” Earlier, while interacting with BEST workers at Wadala bus depot, Deshpande said, “Mumbaikars are suffering due to the strike, however, the intention of the workers was not to harass the citizens.”
The MNS had supported the BEST strike on Wednesday. The families of BEST employees had also met the MNS chief Raj Thackeray to discuss the issue, after which the party’s leaders visited various bus depots to meet families of the striking BEST staffers. While interacting with employees at Wadala BEST depot on Saturday, Deshpande warned of violence and said, the Sena and the corporation would be responsible for whatever happens on Monday. “The Sena is not serious about resolving the issue. It was not as though the strike was a sudden decision, the workers had given a few days’ notice, but they (the Sena and the corporation) didn’t bother to act.”
