Striking MSRTC workers being misled; efforts on to destabilise MVA govt: Sharad Pawar

The MVA government has been trying to resolve the issues of striking employees of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC but they are being ldquomisled and provokedrdquo by some people leading them NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Sunday as he referred to the protest held outside his residence in MumbaiAddressing a rally of NCP workers at Amravati in east Maharashtra Pawar also said that those desperate to snatch power from the MVA government are trying to destabilise the state government by misusing the power of the CentreldquoThe state government has been making constant efforts to resolve the issues of the state transport workers but their leadership has gone into the wrong hands Some people are trying to provoke ST workers What happened at my home in Mumbai is not a crisis it should not be given any importancerdquo Pawar said A group of striking MSRTC employees had staged a sudden and fierce protest outside lsquoSilver Oakrsquo Pawarrsquos bungalow on Pedder Road in south Mumbai on Friday afternoon when he was at home accusing him of not doing anything to help themldquoThe incidents in the last two days indicate that the ST workers were provoked and misled by some people One faces several problems in political life while some of them are sponsored some are situationalrdquo he saidPawar said the then government headed by him ensured that Mumbai returns to normal within three days of the bomb blasts in 1993ldquoBombay blast had occurred on Friday on March 12 1993 With the concerted efforts of stakeholders we ensured that Mumbai is back on the right track Three days after the blasts 100 per cent factories 100 per cent schools and colleges started in Mumbairdquo he saidPawar accused the BJPled Centre of playing politics of communal hatred and animosity in the countryldquoEfforts are being made to create rifts between Hindus and Muslims Dalits and nonDalits by some quarters We should check thisrdquo Pawar saidldquoThough the power in the state in MVArsquos hands the situation is not easy Those away from power are desperate to grab it Using power in the hands of the Centre they are out to destabilise the government in the staterdquo the NCP chief saidPawar also said that various allegations are being levelled against MVA leaders and cited the arrest of two ministers of MVA Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik by Central agenciesldquoThe onepoint agenda of destabilising the MVA government is onrdquo Pawar alleged and called for collective efforts to defeat the agendaNCP leaders Praful Patel Maharashtra state president Jayant Patil and NCP leaders were presentPawar alleged that when issues of fuel hikes and inflation are assuming serious proportions efforts are being made to divert the peoplersquos attention from ldquojust and legitimate issuesrdquoReferring to the Bollywood movie ldquoThe Kashmir Filesrdquo he alleged that efforts are being made to create a rift in society on religious linesldquoThe movie showed how Hindus were torturedhellipwhenever a small community faces a problem how a majority community attacks them If the majority community is Muslim then a sense of insecurity is experienced in the Hindu community A planned conspiracy is taking place today to create this insecurity Unfortunately those who are in power in the country appealed to the people to watch this movierdquo Pawar said in a veiled swipe at BJP leadershipHe also raised serious concerns about the communal situation arising in the countryldquoThe BJP canrsquot run away from the responsibility for attacks on Kashmiri Pandits A rift between Hindus and Muslims is being created which is a very worrying thing Hence those who believe in protecting the interests of all the sections of society should come together The NCP is ready to take up the struggle against those trying to divide the people into the lines of caste and religionrdquo he saidEarlier Pawar inaugurated an auditorium and unveiled the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the Shivaji Education Societyrsquos medical collegeLater he called on former President Pratibha Patil at her residenceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever