After Digvijay Singh produces proof of Hemant Karkare call, RR Patil falls silent

Almost 24 hours after All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Digvijay Singh gave details about his conversation with slain ATS chief Hemant Karkare, there was not a single word from the home department.

On Wednesday, home minister RR Patil met top officers from the police department and the administration to ascertain the facts revealed by the senior Congress leader pertaining to his telephonic conversation with Karkare, a day before he was killed in the 26/11 attack.

Patil has maintained a studied silence for the past two days. He has politely refused to comment on Singh’s revelations though the Democratic Front government left him alone to do all the fire fighting with the Centre.

“If it is true that Karkare had called up Singh a day before he was killed fighting the terrorists, then the state government’s image has taken a beating because Patil had dismissed it as baseless,” a senior cabinet minister (NCP) said.

Now, it seems that Patil is making a last ditch attempt to prove his point by asking the police to go through their records again. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has decided to let the NCP and the home minister to give an explanation.

Now that Singh has offered his proof, the battle lines are not restricted to Singh versus Patil. It is a fight between the Congress and the NCP at the state as well as the Centre.

“We are upset with the NCP as it blatantly campaigned against Singh,” an AICC functionary said. “It is like saying that Singh is a liar. It is public knowledge that Patil had said in the state assembly that there were no records to substantiate any telephonic conversation between Singh and Karkare.”

Patil, said a source in the home ministry, had made the comments based on information provided by the police. Senior police officers had categorically denied any knowledge about Karkare calling up Singh, the source said.

“Even in the midst of the raging controversy, a team of senior police officers from the Mumbai crime branch went to Delhi to brief the Union home ministry,” he said. “The officers had indicated that the department had no records to show that Karkare had called up Singh a day before he was killed.”

Congress spokesperson Hussain Dalwai said that the home minister had blind faith in the police version. “He should have cross-checked everything several times before commenting,” Dalwai said. “After all, Singh is a highly respected leader.”

Discussions are on in the state unit of the NCP as well. “If Singh has the document there is no harm in admitting it,” a senior general secretary said. “But it is stretching things a bit far by seeking an apology from Patil. If we study the statements made by Patil and Singh, we will not find any contradictions about Karkare’s martyrdom.

Both have said that Karkare died fighting Pakistani terrorists. The point of dispute is restricted to Karkare calling Singh and complaining against the threats he had
received from right wing fundamentalists.