Senior Congress leader Gurudas Kamat, who recently quit the Union council of ministers over Cabinet reshuffle, has criticised the Maharashtra government for being unable to prevent the Mumbai triple blasts. At the same time, he clarified that his comments should not be interpreted as criticism of Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.
Presumably training his guns on the Nationalist Congress Party whose candidate R R Patil is the home minister of Maharashtra, Kamat said in his constituency that had 5,000-odd close circuit cameras been working amid proper monitoring, Wednesday’s blasts could have been prevented.
He clarified that the CM had handled the situation arising from the blasts competently. But it was impossible to shift the blame, he added.
Kamat’s comments are not likely to go down well with the Congress party at a time when he has resigned from the government and is now airing his differences in public.
Kamat, chairman (campaign committee) of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, resigned from the central government because he was given a portfolio that did not meet his expectations in the recent Cabinet reshuffle.