R.R. Patil on resignation

Deputy chief minister (DCM) R.R. Patil doused all speculation about his resignation as he expressed his determination to hold on to the portfolio of the Maharashtra home ministry on Sunday. Defending his stand, Mr Patil said that Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi did not resign after the attack on Akshardham temple neither did senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani resign after the attack on the Parliament. Chief minister (CM) Vilasrao Deshmukh and the DCM have been under tremendous pressure to quit, after failing to prevent the terror attack on November 26 in Mumbai. “I have heard that BJP leader Gopinath Munde had demanded for my resignation following the multiple terror attacks in Mumbai,” Mr Patil said. He added, “When Akshardham was attacked, the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi did not resign. When the Parliament was attacked the then Union home minister L.K. Advani also did not resign. Then why should I resign after the Mumbai attack? What morality is BJP talking about?” Mr Patil questioned.
On Sunday, following Union home minister Shivraj Patil’s resignation, there were speculations that the Maharashtra CM and his deputy, Mr Patil, would also resign.
Mr Patil had a meeting with the CM at his official residence Varsha in Malabar Hill on Sunday afternoon. The meeting was held to discuss the law and order situation. After the meeting, both of them said that they would not resign. The CM also dismissed reports about the Centre asking him to resign. “There is no question of my resignation. Nobody has asked me to resign,” he said.
The Centre has claimed that an intelligence report about a possible terror attack on the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel was forwarded to the Maharashtra government few days before the incident. The Gujarat government also claimed that they had informed their counterparts in Maharashtra about terrorist movement in the Arabian Sea. Fishermen’s unions from Mumbai and Porbandar in Gujarat also claimed to have alerted the Maharashtra home ministry about suspicious boats moving in the sea.
However, Mr Patil denied that there was any security lapse. Earlier, Mr Patil also received flak for a statement he made, while speaking with the press regarding the terror attacks on Saturday. He said, “In big cities, one or two incidents like this do happen. The terrorists had planned to kill at least 5,000 people. But the police’s efforts ensured minimal damage.”