By IANS,
New Delhi : Demanding an inquiry commission to determine why the 26/11 Mumbai carnage couldn’t be prevented and why it took so long to subdue the attackers, Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani Friday also asked that parliament be given a copy of the dossier furnished to Pakistan to prove the involvement of its nationals in the assault – but the government rejected this outright.
“I believe that the 26/11 attack was a proxy war. The mastermind behind this attack, Hafiz Saeed, was released in the absence of concrete evidence. The evidence given by us to Pakistan should, therefore, be shared in parliament,” Advani said in the Lok Sabha while participating in the debate on the president’s address Thursday to the joint session of parliament.
Citing lack of evidence, the Lahore High Court Tuesday ordered the release of Jamaat-ud Daawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, the suspected mastermind of the Mumbai attacks.
More than 170 people were killed after 10 Pakistani terrorists attacked key spots in Mumbai Nov 26-29, 2008. One gunman, Ajmal Amir Kasab was captured alive and is currently being tried in a Mumbai court.
Advani also suggested that the sharing of evidence with parliament “will help the country and international community to apply pressure on Pakistan”.
“The centre should set up a Commission of Inquiry to review the conclusions of Pradhan Committee…The country and parliament should know what went wrong and where,” he contended.
The R.D. Pradhan committee was constituted by the Maharashtra government to inquire into lapses by the government and the police before and during the Mumbai assault.
However, Home Minister P. Chidambaram ruled out setting up any probe commission, saying it was surprising that such a demand was being made six months after the terror strike.
“I don’t think there is a need for a Commission of Inquiry. We are not going to appoint it,” said Chidambaram.
“I am amused by that demand…so far as the Mumbai attacks are concerned, we have all the facts. I have gone into all the records and we are quite clear on how it happened and I have shared it with the House,” he said.
“Besides, I would like to ask, did the NDA government appoint a Commission of Inquiry after Kandahar? Did they appoint a Commission of Inquiry after Parliament was attacked? I don’t think that these kind of statements are going to help the situation,” he added.
Advani also added that the central probe commission was necessary as then Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and state home minister R.R. Patil had resigned after 26/11.
Vinita Kamte, wife of police officer Ashok Kamte who was killed while battling the terrorists, had expressed disappointment over the Pradhan Committee findings reportedly giving a clean chit to the Mumbai police.
“It is very serious. So a separate enquiry commission should be constituted to enquire it,” Advani said.