Click to play video26/11/2008 is a day few Indians and no Mumbaikar will ever forget. Mumbai was scarred by a terror attack and after the attackers were subdued, the people of the city came out on to the streets to protest. Now a little over five months later, Mumbaikars are waiting to come out on the streets again - this time to cast their vote.
In this Battle For India special in collaboration with Hindustan Times, CNN-IBN raises the question: Which political party and leader is best prepared to handle the challenges of Mumbai in the post 26/11 scenario?
On the panel to debate the issue were: Congress MP from South Mumbai, Milind Deora; lawyer-turned-politician, BJP's Mahesh Jethmalani; Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's Shirish Parkar; and independent candidate Meera Sanyal.
What has the Congress done in the last five months to make Mumbai feel secure?
Milind Deora kickstarted the debate saying, "There are a lot of parties and candidates who would try and use 26/11 to score political points. I think voters need to ask first time candidates what they were doing four-five months after 26/11. I was one of the first people to reach the attack site and coordinate the relief work. Post that, one of the biggest failures - which the people felt - connected to the system was that the Government's response time was very long. It took a long time for commandos to reach the city. What I have done in Parliament is raised the issue and helped create an NSG-style commando battalion for Mumbai city called Force One which will be able to respond to such terror attacks."
In an essence, he was accepting that 26/11 was a wake up call and till then everything had an "it's all okay" attitude. He said, "I think that certain leaders were removed from office and then home minister of the country agreed to certain lapses makes it clear that there were some problems in our intelligence system and the way the intelligence was passed on to agencies."
It is argued sometimes that the BJP is only targeting Congress for not bringing in the required changes without offering any alternatives.
To this Mahesh Jethmalani said, "The Congress' remedy really is like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted so it really is no solution. Mumbai really is the worst sufferer of terror attacks. There have been about 12 terror attacks in the city since December 2002. Between then and now, not a single terrorist caught has been punished. The judicial system has nothing to do with this and I blame the political system. Even in the Kasab case, there are 2,000 witnesses."
The question that begged an answer then was what would BJP do if it came to power? Would they hang Kasab?
"We would certainly go for a swift not a protracted trial which the Congress is now making it out to be. We cannot hang him overnight. Kasab was involved in three incidents, there is CCTV footage - why can't we just have five witnesses for each incident. The trial should be over in a maximum of two months. Any government should go to the polls with a proud record of swift justice and having punished this man. But the Congress will deliberately not do it," Jethmalani stated.
Deora responded to this saying that every time a lawyer goes to take up the case, it was the BJP and their ally in the state Shiv Sena who went out and protested and delayed the trial.
Police Reforms in India
Shirish Parkar said that the unfortunate thing about India was the police reforms had not been implemented till date. "Policemen don't have the kind of guns they need to capture terrorists. There is still a lacuna in our system. The real issue is police reforms which have not been implemented despite a Supreme Court order and despite the Soli Sorabjee committee recommendations."
Meera Sanyal entered the debate at this point asking why hadn't - along with police reforms - the Kargil recommendations being implemented?
"The Kargil recommendations were framed in 1999 and had they been implemented, we would not have had this situation in 2008. There is no disaster management plan in place for Mumbai or a crisis management team - even to cope with the kind of floods we had in 2005. We have no unified team in this city to deal with any crisis," she said.
Deora stated the Congress was the only party who had police reforms as part of their manifesto and intended to implement it in the next term. "Police reforms mean that the morale of the police needs to be raised along with providing them with better equipment and freeing them of political interference - as we saw in the case of Hemant Karkare before 26/11. Political parties should come together and say that this isn't a political issue."
Shirish Parkar said that the politicians who were running Maharashtra did not want the police to become sovereign or even independent. The policemen outside Hotel Trident - one of the attack sites of 26/11 - were still sleeping out on the street, for all the police reforms that politicos spoke about. "They want the police to be at the mercy of politicians."
Mahesh Jethmalani said that it was unfair to paint all political parties with the same brush especially since the Congress had been in power for the last eight years in the state and had done nothing about police reforms.
"Hemant Karkare in an interview to Tehelka had said that Malegaon blasts and Samjhauta blasts had nothing to do with each other. He was very clear about that and said the two were being linked to politicise the issue. We didn't target Hemant Karkare as is widely thought. My party was concerned about ATS officers illegally detaining and torturing Sadhvi Pragya," Jethmalani added.
What is the solution for Mumbai's biggest crisis: it's collapsing infrastructure?
Mahesh Jethmalani said that the first thing the BJP intended to do was to ensure supply of clean and portable water to all, especially slums. "There is 70 per cent of slum constituency which I am representing and let me tell you the biggest problem there is water."
Meera Sanyal said that the first thing she would take up would be public, rail transport. "we have 80 lakh people traveling everyday on three lines, there are only 150 trains and 4,000 people die every year on the tracks. Something needs to be done about this urgently."
Milind Deora said he agreed with Mahesh Jethmalani that water was perhaps the biggest issue in Mumbai. "However, the BJP has been in power in the BMC for the past 12 years and they have been promising in every manifesto that they will provide people with clean water."
"But you party - which is in power - has not given the Rs 500 crore which it should to the BMC," Jethmalani retorted.
"A project which was languishing with the Centre due to environmental problems has now been cleared and we hope that in three to four years, the water system will be augmented with the help of this project," Deora said.
Maybe a part of the problem was that there were so many authorities and it seems that nobody is in charge of Mumbai. "I think that we should have a directly elected mayor in the city to unify all the workings and who is fully incharge as is the system in New York. I have been supporting this for the last five years," Deora stated.
Parkar said that he did not agree with this. Jethmalani said that a Nagar Raj Bill which was yet to be passed will create something like Panchayati Raj in urban areas. "I think it is a great idea and we should all support it."
Meera Sanyal wanted to know whether all parties would support devolution as one. "One polling booth, one sabha. Will they allow devolution of budgetary authority? The future of a city like Mumbai is through local self government."
What can MPs do to improve urban governance?
Milind Deora said that this was a big problem in India. "By creating something called the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission the Centre is actually incentivising state governments to reform archaic laws whether it means the Nagar Raj Bill or doling out funds," he said.
Jethmalani interrupted saying that of the Rs 1,000 crore promised by the Centre to make Mumbai an international city, only Rs 16 crore has reached the Mumbai authorities. "The Centre said that they would rejuvenate the Mithi river and they would give Rs 1,250 crore for that and not one penny has come. Then they said they would change the face of Dharavi and then backtracked saying that they were out of funds. The fourth assurance was that we will give you Central aid for the Metro Rail project and then said that there was no money."
Parkar agreed saying that in Chaggan Bhujbal's words, "Mumbai was like a beautiful prostitute whom everyone wanted to use. I feel that the onus is on the Congress now."
Deora justified saying, "There is no dearth of Central funding. The reason these projects are getting delayed is because of inconsistency in governance of implementing them by the BMC where the Shiv Sena and BJP are in power."
Meera Sanyal said that there was no shortage of money. "money exists and can come through public-private partnerships. The problem is one of governance, execution and accountability. All they do is fight about who is right and who is wrong and then there is this blame game. I think the real issue this election is that no one is focusing on the issues. The Congress and BJP manifestos are clones of each other. The need to be focusing on the economy, job creation and infrastructure creation - not on who should become the prime minister and who took the terrorists to Kandahar. These are irrelevant when we are facing the biggest economic crisis ever."
Should there be preferential treatment for Maharashtrians?
"I think the issue has been misunderstood. The definition of local for me is all people who have been living here for ages, love this city and who mingle with local culture. Amitabh Bachchan came to Mumbai but became the brand ambassador of UP and this hurts the local man. Of the 12 crore people in Maharashtra, 11 crore speak the same language, so don't try and distort the issue. Preferential treatment to local happens in Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and everywhere. Why do you want to single out Mumbai from other city?" Parkar argued.
Deora countered Parkar saying no one should break the law while raising any issue.
"The debate isn't about someone deserving something or someone not deserving something. The issue is can a political party take the law into its own hand? I take strong stand that BJP on one hand supports elements like Sri Ram Sene in Mangalore. BJP's alliance partner Shiv Sena breaks things, vandalise public property if things don't go its way. My appeal is if you want preferential treatment for locals, do it according to the norms of the Constitution and don't take law into your hand," said Deora.
Where was Raj Thackeray when the 26/11 attack took place in which both Maharashtrians and non- Maharashtrians were killed in the attack? What did MNS do for Mumbai post 26/11 to heal the wounds of the city?
Parkar claimed that his party was in the forefront. "My party cadre was very much there and where other parties were interested in coming in front of the camera, I was there for three days at Nariman House," he claimed.
In Indian elections Independent candidates don't usually win elections. So is Meera Sanyal, contesting as an Independent, just trying to cash in on the cynicism with political parties?
Meera tried to turn it around saying if political parties had been successful in addressing the grievances of the people then Independent candidates like her would not have been contesting.
"Let's ask the dependent candidates. They are dependent on their political parties who are spoiling the system. That is the real issue. If they were talking about the issue Independents like me would never stand. On influx, I believe the city's gate should be open and this city should be for everyone in the country. This is the city of dreams," said Meera.
Parkar interjected saying, "Are we advocating that people should make slums over here illegitimately? Anyone cam come here, buy house, pay duties to Government of Maharashtra. Mumbai should have a permit system."
Jethmalani agreed that Mumbai is facing problems due to influx of people.
"The BJP is all for having national ID cards. The problem is not about North-South divide that Raj has started. That is most unfortunate. But there is a problem of influx of people in the city. When the BJP-Shiv Sena was in government and MNS was part of it… there was to be cut-off date of 1995 after which there would be no influx into the city. After Congress came into power the cut-off has been extended," Jethmalani pointed out.
What kind of a leader does Mumbai need?
"I think we need a leader who is accountable to the people and can deal with the issues. I believe I am that person. I am not someone who is fighting like a seven-year-old. I am on a sabbatical and when I win, I will resign from my job. I am not a professional politician and I am glad of that. I am a professional banker," said Meera.
"India is a young country and Mumbai is a young City. We need a young leader, a dynamic leader and a visionary who can take this city 30 years down the line," Parkar argued.
Jethmalani reeled off a long list of attributes that an ideal Member of Parliament should have.
"I think somebody who can represent his or her constituency in Parliament. He can have the time to devote to national issues, he should be able to introduce Private Members' Bill for the sake of the constituency, should be able to introduce reforms, debate on bills that are passed by the government, oppose it if in Opposition. Support it if in the government. He should at the same time be able to nurse his constituency, solve their problems, bring Central funds to the aid of his constituency and reflect his constituency's problem in Parliament. That is an ideal MP," he said.
Deora argued that the ideal MP should be one who leads from the front.
"What I have demonstrated on 26/11 and post 26/11 is that I led from the front. I didn't politicise the issue. I led from the front and where my government was wrong I made sure that I criticised them. I think people want a leader who is focussed on the agenda of development and not on who gave a hate speech, who is trying to divide on caste and religious lines. Mumbai is representative of India's diversity and needs someone who can unite all people across the religions and languages they speak. Leadership is not about choosing sides but bringing sides together," the young leader said.
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