Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 13 (ANI): The Mumbai Police arrested one journalist from Pune in connection with the alleged attack outside the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar's residence in Mumbai.

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 8 (ANI): Mumbai Police has arrested as many as 105 people hours after hundreds of workers of the state road transport corporation held a protest outside Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar's residence.

Mumbai Mar 31 PTI Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab warned on Thursday that action would be taken as per the rules against the employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC who did not join duty despite the deadline of March 31 Parab who is also the chairman of the loss-making corporation told reporters here that the government had set the deadline of Thursday for ending the strike Since October 28 2021 the majority of over 90000 MSRTC employees are on strike which has paralyzed the state-run bus service for over five months causing hardship to lakhs of commuters especially in rural parts Besides pay hike the employees are demanding merger of the MSRTC with the state government As per the rules all the action that needs to be taken will be taken now It could be suspension dismissal or termination of service Parab said after a meeting of the state cabinet He had appealed to striking employees to join duty seven times he noted No action will be taken against those who have already resumed duty he clarified Those who are absent from duty do not need a jobthat is the perception So they deserve punishment the minister who is a senior Shiv Sena leader added The MSRTC has decided to hire 11000 employees on contract basis for which a tender will be issued soon Parab said He denied that the Bombay High Court has barred the corporation from taking any action against the striking employees According to Parab the corporation operated over 12000 daily services before the strike The number dwindled to 5000 after the strike began and now they have planned to increase it to at least 8000 daily services with the help of contractual staff PTI KK KRK KRK

Mumbai Mar 25 PTI Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab on Friday urged agitating MSRTC staffers to return to work by March 30 Speaking in the Assembly Parab said a three-member committee appointed by the Maharashtra government has ruled out the merger of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation with the state government He also said the government and the corporation have given the agitators more than what they could A section of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC employees have been on strike since October last year demanding that the undertaking be merged with the state government which would give them better salaries and greater job security The three-member committee gave its report and the state government accepted the same in its cabinet meeting The committee has ruled out the merger demand in its report The report throws light on financial legal and administrative aspects Parab said The MSRTC and the state government gave the staffers more than what they could give Hence in this backdrop I request the staffers to resume work on March 30 he said adding that the state-run undertaking had not sacked anyone so far He also asked agitating staffers not to get depressed and attempt suicide It has been said that hundreds of staffers have committed suicide The fact is 48 have committed suicide Of this three committed suicide due to irregular salary One staffer committed suicide because of debt Rest are due to personal or other reasons Parab said PTI ENM BNM BNM

Mumbai Dec 18 PTI Infighting within the Maharashtras ruling Shiv Sena has come out in the open as senior leader Ramdas Kadam on Saturday accused party colleagues and state ministers Anil Parab and Uday Samant of trying to finish off the party by colluding with the NCP and said he would decide his future course of action after meeting Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray Kadam who was environment minister during the Devendra Fadnavis-led government between 2014 and 2019 alleged that the two ministers were also trying to finish him off politically but asserted that that he would always remain a Shiv Sainik and would never quit the party This is for the first time the differences in the Uddhav Thackery-led party have come out in the open after the party came to power in the state in 2019 by joining hands with the NCP and the Congress Talking to reporters here Kadam alleged that Parab who is state transport minister and Samant higher and technical education minister were colluding with the NCP to finish off the Shiv Sena in Ratnagiri district Speaking against Parab doesnt mean taking an anti-Shiv Sena stand Parab and Samant were made ministers to strengthen the Sena and not to finish off senior party leaders who have given their sweat and blood to the party he said Konkan region is a stronghold of the Shiv Sena but the two ministers are trying to end the partys existence there Kadam alleged While Parab is the guardian minister of Ratnagiri district Samant is the guardian minister of Sindhudurg district Kadam who was not nominated by the party for the recent Legislative Council polls from Mumbai local bodies constituency said that in 2019 when the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government was formed he had suggested to Thackeray that senior leaders like him Subhash Desai and Diwakar Raote make way for young leaders in the cabinet Raote and Desai had agreed but I was shocked to see Desai in the first list of council of ministers he said Replying to questions Kadam said he wanted to meet Thackeray to know if he agrees with Parabs views and style of functioning I will decide my future course of action after the meeting I will never quit the Shiv Sena and even if I am thrown out of the party I will remain a Shiv Sainik But my children are free to take their own decision he said I will never leave the saffron flag he said When asked whether he would join the BJP as it also represents the saffron he said there was a difference between the two parties Sena and BJP and he would never quit the Sena Kadam alleged that Parab had failed to handle the ongoing strike of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC employees But despite that he is camping in Ratnagiri to politically finish me off he said Kadam said he had not visited Matoshree the personal residence of Thackeray in the last two years I have written a detailed letter to Uddhavji about the party affairs If I am called for a meeting I will explain my position following which I will take a decision about my future he said This is a first revolt by a senior Shiv Sena leader after Uddhav Thackeray became the chief minister In the past the Sena had seen some high-profile leaders like Chhagan Bhujbal Narayan Rane and Raj Thackeray leaving the party PTI MR NP NP

Mumbai Nov 27 PTI More than 18000 employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC reported to work on Saturday even as the majority continued their strike on the 31st day The agitation of employees who are seeking merger of the cash-strapped corporation with the state government has crippled the state-run bus service for a month now An MSRTC spokesperson said 18090 out of 92266 employees joined duty on Saturday including 2130 drivers and 2112 conductors At some depots like Mangaon in Raigad district all the employees joined duty the official said adding that at Kolhapur depot and in divisions including Sangli bus operations resumed with full capacity The MSRTC had operated 410 buses including 313 ordinary ones as of 2 pm on Saturday On Friday after a meeting with the action committee of MSRTC labour unions Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab had appealed to the employees to resume duty and warned of stern action if they continued to remain absent from work The corporation has suspended 3215 permanent employees and terminated the services of 1226 daily wage workers so far PTI KK KRK KRK

Mumbai Nov 26 PTI Even as Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab had given an ultimatum to the employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC who have been on a strike over their demands to rejoin duty on Friday only a section of workers resumed work this morning officials said The MSRTC is compiling information about how many workers resumed duty across the state on Friday they said Till 10 am the transport body operated only 151 buses across the state majority of them in Sangli and Raigad divisions Of these buses 116 were ordinary ones while the remaining were air-conditioned Shivneri and Shivshahi buses a spokesperson of the MSRTC said The MSRTC workers have been on a strike since October 28 demanding a merger of the cash-strapped corporation with the state government which will give them the status of state government employees and better salaries In a bid to end the strike Parab had on Wednesday declared a hike of Rs 2500 to Rs 5000 in the basic salaries for employees and had also given a 24-hour deadline to the employees to return to duty On Thursday Parab had also warned that strict action would be taken against the employees if they fail to resume work on Friday However most of the employees are adamant on the merger demand and they are firm on going ahead with the strike for it MSRTC is one of the biggest public transport bodies in the county with a fleet of around 16000 buses and around 93000 employees The loss-making corporation used to ferry around 65 lakh passengers before the pandemic According to the corporation over 9700 employees had joined duty and it had operated over 500 buses across the state on Thursday Since November 9 it was the highest number of employees who reported for duty as well as the daily bus services operated PTI KK NP NP

Mumbai Nov 25 PTI Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab on Thursday warned of strict action against employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC if they dont rejoin duty on Friday The MSRTC workers have been on a strike since October 28 demanding a merger of the cash-strapped corporation with the state government which will give them the status of state government employees and better salaries In a bid to end the strike Parab had on Wednesday declared a hike of Rs 2500 to Rs 5000 in the basic salaries for employees claiming that it would be the highest in the history of the corporation The transport minister had also given a 24-hour deadline to the employees to return to duty Speaking to reporters Parab on Thursday said that he has assured to withdraw the suspension of employees and will be reviewing the situation in a meeting with the MSRTC officials later in the day While making an appeal to the employees to rejoin duty the minister warned that stern action will be taken against those who dont return to work within the given deadline on Friday According to an MSRTC official the corporation is compiling information about workers attendance from across the state However preliminary reports have revealed that majority of the employees have not reported to duty as yet and hence the operation of buses at all 250 depots in the state was also shut the official added Meanwhile the BJP on Thursday announced to temporarily call off the sit-in agitation of MSRTC employees at Azad Maidan here BJP MLC Sadabhau Khot and Gopichand Padalkar who were leading the agitation made the announcement Today we are temporarily calling off our agitation at Azad Maidan All employees should sit together and decide whether to carry out the rest of the agitation We are with them Khot said The movement was started by the MSRTC employees and the party had supported it to give justice to them he said The state government has taken two steps forward We have won the first stage of the fight The decision merger will come from the court We will be with the workers if they agitate in the second phase as well Khot said The BJP had started a sit-in agitation at Azad Maidan on November 10 to push for the demand of MSRTC employees for the merger of the corporation with the state government Citing that they had tried on various levels to give justice to MSRTC employees Padalkar refuted the allegation that they had tried to take political advantage of the strike PTI KK ARU NP NP

Mumbai Nov 23 PTI As the indefinite strike by Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC employees entered the 27th day on Tuesday Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut met NCP president Sharad Pawar and later expressed hope of a resolution to the agitation soonTalking to reporters here Raut said he held discussion with Pawar on a range of issues including politics and the ongoing MSRTC workers strike which is not showing any signs of resolutionThe NCP is a key constituent of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA governmentOnly serious issues are discussed with Pawar saheb because we both dont have time to discuss other issues The MSRTC strike issue is very serious and I am sure that the issue will be resolved soon he said after the meeting held at the NCP presidents residence hereThe strike by MSRTC staffers demanding a merger of the loss-making transport undertaking with the state government continued for the 27th day on TuesdayOn Monday Pawar held a discussion with Transport Minister Anil Parab and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar on this issue Raut saidAccording to the talks we had it appears that a solution will soon be found to the issue There was a meeting between Shard Pawar Finance Minister Ajit Pawar and the transport minister Parab and I understand that he has given them some positive instructions Raut addedHe hit out at the opposition BJP for adding oil to the fire on the MSRTC workers issueEveryone knows who is inciting the situation in Maharashtra and why it is being done who is adding oil to the fire on the MSRTC issue we have the information about this the Rajya Sabha MP saidAttempts are being made to set fire in Maharashtra from Amravati a reference to the recent riots in the city to MSRTC workers strike Raut allegedEveryone is sympathetic towards the cause of ST employees Whatever that can be done by the government is being done he addedTo a question on former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh Raut said it is not a serious issue which requires discussion with PawarIn a major relief to Singh the Supreme Court on Monday protected him from arrest in criminal cases lodged against him in Maharashtra wondering that if he is being hounded for filing cases against police officers and extortionists what could happen to a common manThe senior IPS officer who has nearly half-a-dozen criminal cases against him has claimed a threat to his life from the Mumbai policeAsked about the threat issue Raut said There is no city as safe as Mumbai It is a joke that he faces threat from the Mumbai Police when a former Mumbai Police Commissioner says this He is an accused now He has cases of extortion against him and such people should not be trusted the Sena leader said PTI PR RSY RSY

Mumbai Nov 23 PTI The stir by Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation MSRTC workers continued for the 27th day on Tuesday though the state-run undertaking said it had managed to operate 151 buses during the day including around 60 in Sangli division where operations were at a complete standstill so far The employees of the loss making corporation have gone on strike demanding its merger with the state government which will give them better salaries and greater job security All 250 ST bus depots have been shut since November 9 though the stir started from October 28 An official said the number of staffers reporting to work amid the strike has increased to over 8000 now against an average of 7500 last week A total of 8343 out of 92266 employees reported to work today These comprised 5759 administrative employees 2060 workshop workers 330 drivers and 194 conductors an MSRTC spokesperson said on Monday Meanwhile during the day some workers agitated in front of state transport minister Anil Parabs home near Mantralaya and tried to smear the walls with black colour though it was thwarted by police PTI KK BNM BNM BNM