'Patil failed to discharge his duties'

In a caustic remark, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray says that the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has not done Maharashtrians proud with his inept handling of internal security.

In a caustic remark, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Thursday said the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil had not done Maharashtrians proud with his inept handling of internal security and had proved to be a disappointment.

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"It is fine to see a Maharastrian holding an important portfolio like Home Ministry. But if this person is failing to discharge his duties towards the nation effectively, he does not deserve any support just because he happens to be a Marathi manoos," Thackeray said in an editorial in Saamna.

The editorial lambasted Patil for what it called an all round failure in dealing with terrorist attacks claiming lives of innocent people and asked him to introspect on whether he really had the capability to shoulder the present responsibility.

Patil should remember that he is sitting in the chair once occupied by a stalwart like late Vallabhbhai Patel who struck terror in the minds of anti-India elements when he became the country's first home minister, Thackeray said.

"Ironically, despite his penchant for a well dressed image, Patil was stripped politically by television channels when he changed his suit thrice to face the cameras on the day of serial bomb blasts in the capital," Thackeray said.