Shivraj V.
Patil Residence Address:
Member of Parliament North Block New Delhi -
110001
Minister of Home Affairs https://mha.gov.in
Government of India
Date: 27th November 2008
Committee: Special Session of the Parliament of India.
Agenda: 26/11 Mumbai Attack with Special emphasis on strengthening India’s mainland
security.
I, Shivraj V. Patil, the Hon’ble Minister of Home Affairs come into this special session with
an intention to curb the ongoing crisis in the country and find solution to the agenda decided
for the committee.
It is a tragic and devastating terror attack that has left the country and the entire world in
disbelief. The attackers, who are to be blamed for this monstrous act, committed terrorism
resulting to loss of innocent lives and massive destruction of Mumbai City. The attackers
involved in the assault are terrorists from Pakistan-based militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT). This organization has been involved in acts of terrorism for a long time and has carried
out many attacks against civilians. I completely condemn what these attackers did in the
strongest terms possible. We understand how serious this attack was and we acknowledge the
pain it has caused to those directly affected by it. I feel that there is no place for such acts of
violence in a civilized society and everyone must speak out against them without hesitation.
What happened in Mumbai is a terrible thing, which our government takes very seriously. It
amounted to brazen aggression on India’s territorial integrity.
Indeed, if it’s happening in Mumbai then certainly, we have maximum police deployment
there to deal with such eventualities here at home. Moreover, soon as we were informed
about this, within two-three hours we dispatched NSG commandos. We didn’t have any plane
here, so we called one from Chandigarh and sent 250-300 NSG commandos within 2-3 hours
to Mumbai; I also travelled with them. It was a cargo plane and we had to stand during the
whole journey to Mumbai. However, some people do not get that law and order
constitutionally belongs to the state government which should ask for help from Centre
before we send forces. But if we think that it is necessary to send troops in a particular state
while the state government is not requesting for that or cannot control the situation. Under
such circumstances, we can suspend the state government and move troops into the state.
We have requested Mumbai Police Commissioner to form a committee to take over and there
should be no interference with them otherwise there would be more confusion as there will be
differences of opinion among us. Those responsible for these attacks will face justice for their
actions. We will do our best to prosecute perpetrators through legal channels but also demand
stern measures against future attacks of similar nature across different national borders such
as ours. We believe that terrorism is a global threat requiring collective response by all
nations globally. To this end, urge upon all countries to collaborate together towards
dismantling terrorist networks as well as averting future assaults of such nature.
Shivraj V. Patil
Minister of Home Affairs
Government of India
Bibliography
This bibliography contains a comprehensive list of sources consulted and referenced in the
research. The sources listed here have been carefully selected for their relevance, reliability,
and credibility, providing a solid foundation for the information presented in the paper.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22673262/
https://www.unisdr.org/preventionweb/files/7737_Mumbai.pdf
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/shivraj-patils-memoir-makes-no-
mention-of-2611/article6366801.ece
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE4AT1EH/
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/110616/i-travelled-to-
mumbai-within-3-hours-of-26-11-attack-shivraj-patil.html
