Report tabled, 16-member panel to recommend action

Though the state government has made the Ram Pradhan Committee report public, it will be debated behind closed doors.

Though the state government has made the Ram Pradhan Committee report public, it will be debated behind closed doors.

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The government has appointed a committee of 16 legislators to discuss the report and recommend the action to be taken.

The committee is headed by Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and will include Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Home Minister R.R. Patil, Opposition leaders Eknath Khadse and Pandurang Phundkar, and other senior legislators from both Houses.

The government does not want discussion on the findings of the committee in the Legislature as the 26/11 trial is still on.
What the committee of legislators discusses will not be made public — at least for now.

The report was submitted in May but the government refused to table it, saying it would impact the 26/11 trial.

Later, it tabled the ‘action to be taken report’ (ATTR) and promised to act on the Pradhan Committee’s recommendations.

One of the actions mentioned the ATTR was the formation of the Force One commando team to tackle any further terror attacks.

Also mentioned were efforts to enhance coastal security, established a unified command for the police and procurement of modern weapons and equipment for the police.

The government made the report a classified document in June. It also announced that the report would be made public only after the trial was over.

However, following pressure from the Opposition, it decided to release the report.

The government declassified it before tabling it in the Legislature on Monday.

While tabling the report, the government refused to probe its leak.

However, it admitted that the contents of the leaked report were by and large authentic.“There are few small differences in the copies,” Patil told the Assembly. “Even I want to know who leaked it.”

Not satisfied with assurance that the government would inquire how the report was leaked, Opposition members shouted slogans and staged a walkout.

“How can the government protect the state’s 12 crore people when it cannot keep one important document safe?” asked Assembly Opposition leader Khadse. He also alleged that the government had deleted parts of the report.