Mumbaikars are unlikely to ever forget this famous comment -- Bade bade shaharon mein choti choti ghatna hote hain (in big cities, such small incidents do happen) -- made by then home minister RR Patil after the 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, which eventually led to his ouster. In fact, it had generated such an anti-government wave that it also claimed the chief ministership of Vilasrao Deshmukh.
But the wily politician Patil is, when the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party government was voted to power in 2009, he pleaded before NCP president Sharad Pawar to give him another chance to prove his merit. In his second tenure as the home minister Patil had pledged he will make Mumbai the safest destination in the world. But the triple blasts on Wednesday have put a serious question mark on his capability, indicating that the battle against terrorism is not only far from being won, but also there are gaping holes in the city’s terror preparedness.
To rub salt into the city’s wounds, politicians rallied out on the streets to lend a helping hand and also score brownie points, while, as a ritual, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and union home minister PC Chidambaram renewed their pledge against terrorism.
But the onus lies chiefly at Patil’s door. In an interview to DNA shortly after taking charge of the home ministry, Patil had said, "My mission is to transform Maharashtra police into the number one force in the world. The fight against terrorism remains the highest on my agenda. There is no lowering of guard on any front.”
While no individual can be singled out for the terror strike, the incident is going to kick up a debate about the intelligence capability of the police force. The home minister will also have to answer uncomfortable questions related to how much of the recommendations made in the RD Pradhan committee have been fulfilled.
Patil will have to face rivals within the Congress-NCP, as well as the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party, who will question how prepared is the state in tackling terrorism?
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