Maha govt's negligence responsible for Mumbai blasts : Kamat

Mumbai, Jul 17: Sulking Congress leader Gurudas Kamat, who recently quit the Union council of ministers, has blamed the Maharashtra Government for the 13/7 triple bomb blasts that rocked Mumbai.

Kamat, who visited his constituency Mumbai North West for the first time after his resignation, criticised the state government for not learning a lesson from the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

"If 5,000 CCTV cameras would have been set up in different parts of Mumbai, last week's bomb blasts at Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar and Dadar would not have taken place," he said.

"The government should have taken stern steps to improve the security after the November 2008 terror strikes. But, the government has not learnt a lesson and precautions that needed to be taken were ignored," he said.

He also said that the state government had failed to procure patrol boats and construct coastal police stations.

Kamat said he had written to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi soon after the blasts, stating that steps, which needed to be taken in last three years had been sidetracked.

"Last week's blasts took place due to the negligence of the state government, police and intelligence agencies," Kamat said.

PTI