Opposition parties on Monday hit out at the BJP and Shiv Sena for the BEST bus strike which entered its seventh day in the metropolis even as an official of the civic-run transport undertaking expressed hope that a High Court hearing later in the day will provide a solution.

Over 32,000 employees of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) are on strike since Tuesday last week and 3200-odd buses in its fleet are off the roads.

Striking workers are demanding the merger of BEST’s budget with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the former’s parent body, as well as higher wages.

Talks over the last week between a State government committee led by the Maharashtra Chief Secretary and striking BEST unions have failed to break the impasse.

The Nationalist Congress Party and the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday questioned the motives of the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance and asked why the strike had been allowed to linger on for a week.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik on Monday said, “BEST strike enters 7th day to promote wet leasing of buses to benefit Shiv Sena leaders. Similar ploy was played in Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses. The Shiv Sena should clarify how many buses belong to their leaders.”

He added: “The BJP will also hand over electric supply to their friend Adani. The Shiv Sena and the BJP are holding Mumbaikars to ransom to benefit their leadership.”

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Preeti Sharma Menon, while expressing her party’s support to workers, alleged the State government was “anti-labour”.

“We support the demands of the strikers and are shocked that the government is unaffected by the longest BEST strike ever. This government is anti-labour. It had also turned a deaf ear to the MSRTC’s strike last year,” she said.

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