The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has slammed his party leader and state home minister RR Patil for his inept handling of law and order in the state. He questioned the minister about the failure of intelligence agencies and about Mumbai and Pune being frequent targets for terror attacks.
In his speech before party workers in an auditorium in Nariman Point on Saturday, Pawar said that Mumbai and Pune have witnessed the highest number of blasts in the country. He added that the state home department and its intelligence should be held responsible for their poor performance in the wake of regular blasts seen in the two cities.
“Pune is being targeted again and again; this presents the home ministry and its intelligence in poor light. The home department should establish its authority,” Pawar said. He also said that the minister has been pulled up for the same and has been asked to lay out responsibilities to the officers responsible. He told the minister that he should not hold back from punishing officers and showing them in place for their failures.
He added later that it is difficult to explain the situation in Maharashtra to the Centre. “I have been the state’s home department minister for nearly ten years and understand the department better. Innocent people are being victimised and certain communities are targeted because of the blasts, endangering unity in the country. Fortunately, the intensity of the blast in Pune was diminished by rains, or there could have been a lot more losses,” he said.
Putting Patil in more trouble, Pawar also expressed his dismay over the delay in setting up CCTV cameras in Mumbai. “A team led by the home minister had visited London to study the CCTV setup there last year. Even months later, the department has not even been able to hand out any tenders for setting up CCTV surveillance systems. The delay is not acceptable,” he said.
