Prove charges or resign, BEST GM tells Sharad Rao

Reacting to allegations made by BEST Workers’ Union’s general secretary that the administration was pocketing Rs30,000 each of the 750 new recruits employed, Uttam Khobragade general manager of BEST said that Sharad Rao must submit a complaint in writing. “If any BEST employee is found guilty, action will be taken. But if it is proved wrong, Rao will have to tender his resignation,” Khobragade said.

The recent two-day strike called by the BEST Workers’ Union exposed not only the rift between the management and the union, but also the rift among trade unions. Though Rao said he had not apologised for the strike, another union leader and a BEST committee member, Suhas Samant, admitted that he had apologised.

Interestingly, all BEST committee members lauded Khobragade’s stand on the strike. It was due to his no-nonsense attitude — Khobragade had the Bombay High Court declare the strike illegal — that the trade unions had to come back to the work. Congress corporator Sheetal Mhatre, a committee member said that both the BEST management and the unions must set aside their egos and work in the interest of the public  and the employees.