`Like politicians, govt officials should also face action for 26/11`

On the first anniversary of the deadly 26/11 attacks, Swati Chaturvedi of Zeenews.com caught up with Vilasrao Deshmukh for an exclusive chat.

Vilasrao Deshmukh was the chief minister of Maharashtra during the Mumbai terror attacks last year. For the serious security lapse, he was asked by Congress party to resign, but later rehabilitated in the Union Cabinet as Heavy Industries minister.

On the first anniversary of the deadly attacks, Swati Chaturvedi of Zeenews.com caught up with Deshmukh for an exclusive chat on her show Kahiye Janab. Here are the excerpts: Swati: It has been a year since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. I feel that apart from those who died in the attack, you have also been a victim of the incident as you lost your job as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra? Deshmukh: No, it’s not like that. When the attacks started, I was in Kerala. I immediately rushed back and reached Mumbai at 1.30 am. I also held a press conference at 4.00 am. Further, I asked the then Union home minister Shivraj Patil to send commandos to the city. Swati: But there was a delay of over nine hours in sending commandos to the city. Deshmukh: At that time, nobody had an idea that such a thing could happen. The intelligence inputs that we had were of regular nature. Swati: Post 26/11 attacks, there was a campaign against you. People accused you of promoting ‘terror tourism’ after your son and film director Ram Gopal Varma accompanied you on the visit to Taj Hotel after the attacks. Deshmukh: That’s true. There was a planned campaign and I feel it was done with vested interests. I had never met Ram Gopal Varma before the Mumbai attacks. While leaving for Taj Hotel, I met my son Riteish, who was accompanied by the film director. I just asked my son if he wanted to come along. He said yes and Ram Gopal Varma also came with him. It was I who supplied the video – shot by the state government’s publicity department – of our visit to the media as no press person was present at the site then. Our intention was not to promote ‘terror tourism’. Swati: It was state home minister RR Patil who first resigned. The next day your party (Congress) asked you to step down. Do you think Pawar was behind your removal? Deshmukh: Patil had suddenly informed me about his resignation. He said his party high command had asked him late at night to step down. He, however, asked me to continue, saying it was for him to take the moral responsibility of the attacks as the state home minister and step down. I didn’t understand why he didn’t ask me not to resign then. I then spoke to the Congress high command and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who asked me to accept Patil’s resignation and forward it to the Governor. Swati: The country was facing a crisis of such magnitude and the Congress and NCP were busy playing politics! Deshmukh: I don’t know about that, but since Patil is now back as Maharashtra Home Minister, I believe there was some kind of conspiracy behind asking me to continue as the chief minister. Swati: Shivraj Patil resigned as the Union Home Minister, and now there’s talk of him moving to the Raj Bhavan. RR Patil is back. What about Vilasrao Deshmukh? Congress had asked you to step down; it has got re-elected and is back in power. Ashok Chavan was in power for just a few months. Who should be credited for the electoral win? Deshmukh: When I was in power I contributed to Maharashtra’s development. Chavan carried forward the agenda. I think it’s a collective responsibility. Further, I don’t regret stepping down as CM. If accusations are being levelled against me, I think it must be my destiny. It was my moral responsibility to step down as the head of the state government. But unlike we politicians, no senior police officer or government official was held accountable. Swati: What do you have to say about former Mumbai police commissioner Hasan Gafoor’s remarks that several police officers didn’t do their duty as expected during the Mumbai attacks? Deshmukh: It is for the government to probe the charges. After the attacks, a (Ram Pradhan) committee, which was formed to look into the issues, has already submitted its report to the government. Swati: Who actually is responsible for the Mumbai mayhem? Deshmukh: No one person is responsible for the mayhem. Terrorists came from Pakistan. They first crossed the Navy’s surveillance zone, then the Coast Guard’s, and finally managed to evade the police. Swati: What about the victims’ families? For them, all the discussion about failure of the Navy, Coast Guard and police, and faulty bullet-proof jackets is just an excuse. Deshmukh: We cannot bring back those who are already dead. What we can do is set up an inquiry and fix responsibility. However, no one person can be held responsible for what happened as the security system involves many agencies. There should be a unified command to co-ordinate. Such recommendations have already been sent to the Union Home Ministry. The threat of such an attack still prevails. Same incident can happen again. Even the Prime Minister has said this. What we need to do is stay alert and learn from the 26/11 attacks to be prepared for the future. Swati: Ram Pradhan committee has submitted its report. After the 9/11 attacks, the US has not witnessed a single terror strike. Here, not a single recommendation of the committee has been implemented. Deshmukh: Corrective steps have been taken, but as you said, more needs to be done. Swati: When you were the chief minister, did you ever fear 26/11 was waiting to happen? Deshmukh: Something of this scale, which was like a war on the state, happened for the first time. I had never imagined such an attack would ever take place. Swati: How do you view citizens’ outrage post 26/11 and the media’s coverage of the deadly terror attacks? Deshmukh: When such things happen, some kind of restraint should be there. The media coverage should not be repetitive and subjective. I felt after the attacks, the media sidelined the main issue and highlighted my visit to the Taj Hotel with Ram Gopal Varma. Trial by media is wrong. Swati: But no action has been taken against IAS/IPS officers. Deshmukh: As a political head, it was my moral responsibility to step down. However, there’s a feeling among the public that till now no action has been initiated against any government official. We could not have pin-pointed against any particular officer, but the officials responsible for the lapses should also be held accountable. Swati: Before the elections, you were Mumbai’s No. 1 villain. You created and nurtured Raj Thackeray, who eventually helped the Congress in winning the polls. Deshmukh: People say that I helped Raj by not taking any action against him, but I believe it was actually the media which helped him. If you show one thing over and over again then people think a big event has taken place in Mumbai. They feel North Indians are finding it difficult to live in Mumbai. Ministers from North India like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar spoke to me, asking me to ensure the safety of people from their respective states. But we took all police and legal measures we could. Swati: Do you believe Congress is back in power because of Raj? Deshmukh: No, it’s not like that. When Raj was with Shiv Sena, then also Congress was sending MLAs to the Maharashtra Assembly. Swati: Do you want to become Maharashtra CM again? Deshmukh: I will do what my party asks me to. Swati: If RR Patil can come back why not you? Deshmukh: I was rehabilitated respectfully in the Union Cabinet, while Patil had to wait for almost one year to make a come back. Adaptation: Deepak Nagpal