Rohit Pawar, NCP workers stage 1-day hunger strike

The state government is currently recruiting more than 1.5 lakh vacancies in different departments such as police, talathi and education on contract basis

PUNE:

Rohit Pawar, MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency took part in the hunger strike at Mahatma Phule Wada in Ganj Peth. (HT PHOTO)

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator Rohit Pawar, a member of the Sharad Pawar-led faction, and his party colleagues staged a symbolic hunger strike in Pune on Wednesday to protest the Maharashtra government’s plan to hire contract workers in various departments.

The state government is currently recruiting more than 1.5 lakh vacancies in different departments such as police, talathi (revenue department official), and education. Some of the positions in select departments are being filled on a contractual basis.

To oppose the decision, Rohit Pawar, MLA from Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency in Ahmednagar district, NCP’s Pune city unit president Prashant Jagtap (Sharad Pawar faction), and other leaders in the city took part in the hunger strike at Mahatma Phule Wada in Ganj Peth area. Social leader Baba Adhav and some other social organisations also supported the NCP’s agitation while criticising the Maharashtra government’s proposal.

“We are holding a one-day symbolic hunger strike here to protest the contractual recruitment being undertaken by the State government in its various departments,” Pawar said.

Recently Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) Ajit Pawar clarified that the decision is a temporary move, and it has been decided by the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

‘’I can provide proof as to who signed off on this decision during the previous government’s term. Today, when they are no longer in power, they are shifting the blame onto us,” Ajit Pawar had said last week when he was asked about the opposition’s criticism of recruitment on a contractual basis.