New Delhi: Days after Maharashtra Chief
Minister Prithviraj Chavan said Congress agreeing to give the
key home portfolio to its alliance partner was a mistake, NCP
chief Sharad Pawar on Monday defended the Mumbai Police in its
probe in the serial blasts saying it was on the "correct
path".
After a marathon meeting with state Deputy Chief
Minister Ajit Pawar and Home Minister RR Patil at his
residence here, the Aericultuire Minister told reporters that
he was convinced that the Mumbai Police was "on the correct
path of investigation."
"If fact if we recollect previous such incidents in
Mumbai, each and every case was detected by police and taken
to logical conclusion. Here also, I am convinced, the Mumbai
police are on the correct path. They will definitely detect
the case and those who are responsible will be punished," he
said.
Amidst questions being raised on security issues in
the wake of the Mumbai blasts, Chavan had said Congress
agreeing to give the key Home portfolio to NCP was a mistake.
"I think it was a mistake. We should have re-looked at
it. I don`t know of any other coalition government where the
portfolios of Home, Finance and Planning are not with the
Chief Minister," Chavan said, evoking an angry response from
its ally.
Pawar said since he had handled the 1993 serial blasts
in Mumbai, the two state leaders had come to seek his views on
the issue.
Asked whether the remarks made by Chavan come up
during their discussions, Pawar said "nobody uttered a single
word about that."
"Even if they feel, today our collective
responsibility is to go in depth of this entire issue, give
full strength to Mumbai Police and see that culprits are
detected. Not a single word was uttered by anybody about these
type of things," he said.
In a veiled attack on MNS chief Raj Thackeray, he said
there might to "certain sections which want to create a rift
between different religious, linguistic sections. But I am
sure, Mumbaikars will not succumb to this ...and they will
always stand like a rock.
A day after the blasts, Thackeray had blamed the north
Indians and migrant population for the terror attack
which left 19 dead and over 130 injured.
PTI
