Maharashtra government gears up for tough questions

Going public on triple blasts investigation will not be appropriate, says Chavan

Prithviraj Chavan t

In the wake of the July 13 triple blasts that rocked Mumbai, the Maharashtra government is preparing for some tough action from the Opposition on the issue of security and the blasts investigation, which has not seen any breakthrough or arrest so far. Security measures are set to top the agenda during the monsoon session of the State legislature, beginning on Monday.

“The blasts are a very important issue and it is important to discuss the steps taken. Some days ago, the government held a meeting of the State Security Council. However, the blasts investigation is a very sensitive area,” Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told journalists on Sunday.

The Opposition parties, namely the Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, sent a letter to Mr. Chavan on the issues they wished to raise. Mr. Chavan said that speaking of the investigation publicly would not be appropriate. A fruitful discussion on security-related areas was on the cards.

Asked about the conflicting statements made by the Congress and its alliance partner the Nationalist Congress Party over intelligence on the terror attack, Mr. Chavan said the alliance was speaking in one voice. “There is no need to say anything more after Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has spoken,” he said. Security matters would also be taken up with the new Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh when he visits Mumbai, he said.

With the Centre planning to bring in a new land acquisition law, Mr. Chavan stressed the need to formulate new rules on Special Economic Zones for furthering industrial development. On the long-standing issue of mill workers, the Chief Minister said more clarity on the cut-off date, eligibility of heirs, land availability, and the number of houses that could be built had to be ascertained. He said 41 of the 58 mill owners had sent their proposals for modernisation.

He remained non-committal when asked about free housing for the mill workers.

He conceded there were several complaints from farmers about bogus seeds. The government has issued directions for strict action against erring officials. Asked about a report, where sons in the family were yoked to the plough to till the land, Mr. Chavan said it was an isolated incident. Agriculture was going through stress and six districts in Vidarbha had witnessed a large number of suicides, he said.