26/11 report review panel inactive: Maharashtra opposition leader

MUMBAI - A year after the Maharashtra government appointed a high-level committee to examine the details of a probe panel’s report in the 26/11 terror attack, the entire issue seems to have been forgotten, the state’s Leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse said Thursday.

“It is now a year since the 16-member committee, which included the chief minister, deputy chief minister, home minister and leader of opposition, besides senior members from the legislature, was appointed. However, not a single meeting of the committee, except the initial preparatory meeting, has been held despite repeated reminders by me,” Khadse told IANS over telephone from Jalgaon.

The committee was expected to go into the details and recommendations of the Pradhan- Balachandran Committee report, and take appropriate steps in the matter to prevent similar attacks in the future.

The commission comprising former Arunachal Pradesh governor and ex-bureaucrat Ram Pradhan and former special secretary in the cabinet secretariat V. Balachandran was appointed Dec 30, 2008 - a month after the Mumbai terror attack rocked the country - and submitted its report in May 27, 2009.

During the monsoon session of the state legislature, the ruling Democratic Front government tabled a part of the report July 16, 2009 and the Action To Be Taken (ATTR) report.

Six months later, during the winter session of the legislature, the full report was tabled, but a part of the contents had already got leaked before that.

Khadse alleged that the state government is simply not interested in the issue or its seriousness and that is why the committee has been ignored.

“Whenever such major incidents take place, they make tall claims about doing this and that, but actually nothing comes out of it,” he said.

With the winter session of the legislature starting in Nagpur Dec 1, Khadse said that the opposition would raise the issue and demand a reply from the government on the committee.