When will Maharashtra home minister have security on agenda?
After the 26/11 terror attacks, the state government had sheepishly admitted that security had never been central to its administration the way social agenda was.
After the 26/11 terror attacks, the state government had sheepishly admitted that security had never been central to its administration the way social agenda was.
In the wake of the 13/7 serial blasts, the question that arises is how much importance home minister RR Patil has attached to security vis-à-vis social agenda as an administrator and a politician in the last three years.
On any given day, Patil’s chamber on the first floor of Mantralaya is overcrowded with people, waiting for hours to register their complaints about things ranging from robbery, chain snatching and domestic violence to highhandedness of the local policeman.
There are as many seated inside his chamber having party problems. Caught between party and policing, there is little time left for him to reflect on matters like internal security and terrorism which, in any case, is dismissed as a global phenomenon that is here to stay.
The state home minister cannot afford to leave security matters to IAS and IPS officers. After 26/11, interim home minister Jayant Patil had tried to plug the holes in the system. His single-minded mission was to implement the recommendations of the RD Pradhan commission to strengthen intelligence, modernise security agencies and increase manpower.
His efforts to put an end to factionalism in the police force would have borne fruit if he had been allowed to head the department for a couple of years. His predecessor, former deputy chief minister and home minister Chhagan Bhujbal, had put in place a human intelligence system that often helped the force keep itself updated.
The question here is not where RR Patil stands vis-à-vis Jayant Patil or Chhagan Bhujbal or their predecessors. RR Patil is an honest politician, and that is a virtue in this age of corruption. He was hurt when he was asked to resign after 26/11.
He returned to the ministry in 2009. But what has he delivered? He has mastered the art of image building and steered away from controversies, hopping from one agenda to another to grab headlines. It suits the party too. But how long can he ride on his perception as a pious soul when the city is regularly bleeding?
The Centre has provided state full backing to fight terrorism. He cannot shirk the responsibility for failing to guard the city. How many hours does he spare to review security in city and state? City’s 500 CCTVs can’t replace a human informer who would network with encounter specialists crisscrossing Mumbai’s sensitive by-lanes.