Around four to five Janshakti Sangathan workers, who are protesting over the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) strike issue, smeared black oil paint on the official residence of state transport minister Anil Parab on Tuesday.

The police officers took action against the protestors and dragged them from the minister's official residence. The police have detained the Janshakto Sangathan workers.

This comes after Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday held a meeting with Parab, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, and MSRTC officers to discuss the demands of the striking workers. According to reports, Parab said that the meeting focused on finding a solution in which the workers’ demands as well as passengers’ convenience will be catered to.

The strike by MSRTC workers has been ongoing since October 27 and though it was called off later, some staffers continued the agitation, impacting operations of MSRTC bus fleet and revenue generation.

The striking unions began the stir following the delay in the payment of their salaries and deaths of several staffers by suicide in the past one year. They have been demanding a salary hike, merger of MSRTC with the Maharashtra government, and increase in dearness and house rent allowances.

Meanwhile, the Bombay high court has ordered the protesting MSRTC employees to consider the inconvenience their stir was causing to the state’s students and villagers. It has also asked each of the 26 striking unions to meet the three-member panel constituted by the court, and put forth their grievances and demands before it over the next few days.