"It was a natural disaster, why should I resign?"

Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh spoke to Editor Prabhu Chawla on the floods in the state.

Q. You must be shocked by the disaster that rocked your state.
A. Yes. It was a big natural disaster.

Q. Shouldn't you have been prepared?
A. How can you be prepared for a big difference of rainfall in areas just 20 km apart? There was 70 mm rainfall in south Mumbai whereas north Mumbai got 244 mm in the same timespan of 24 hours.

Q. Don't you feel that your administration did not react the way it should have?
A. We held a meeting with government officials just two-and-a-half hours after the downpour began.

Q. You are not ready to accept that your administration was not prepared to face such a calamity.
A. No, we were not prepared for such a big tragedy.

Q. You were busy with political games even as the floods claimed about 1,000 lives. Narayan Rane left the Shiv Sena because of your efforts.
A. We had nothing to do with Rane's exit from the Shiv Sena.

Q. Wasn't it necessary to seek help from Sharad Pawar, who has a lot of experience in disaster management?
A. He was in constant touch with us.

Q. Will you be able to save Mumbai?
A. We will have to take strict decisions for the betterment of the city. We have the political will to do so.

Q. There is a demand to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra.
A. That is impossible. Mumbai is an integral part of Maharashtra. It cannot be separated.

Q. Mumbai cannot become an Union territory or state?
A. Absolutely not.

Q. Would you like to fix a limit for the number of outsiders coming to Mumbai?
A. We will have to rethink the development plan.

Q. Don't you want to take moral responsibility?
A. If the event had been man-made I would have taken responsibility. It was a natural calamity.

Q. Which means you are not planning to resign?
A. Why should I resign?

PICTURE SPEAK

WESTWARD BOUND: Sonia

DELHI After her visit to Russia in June, Congress President Sonia Gandhi is scheduled to embark on another foreign trip-this time to the US, in September, on the invitation of the Clinton Foundation. The occasion is the launch of the Clinton Global Initiative by former US President Bill Clinton in New York on September 15.

During the visit, Sonia will rub shoulders with leaders like French President Jacques Chirac, King Abdullah of Jordan and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Also on the list of invitees are several African heads of state and CEOs like Rupert Murdoch and Jeff Immelt. Sources say Rahul Gandhi, who got his US visa renewed last week, may also accompany his mother.

Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen Sen, an old Gandhi family loyalist, is trying to ensure that the red carpet is rolled out for the UPA chairperson and that she gets to meet US President George W. Bush. Also on the cards is an interaction with some US Congressmen. Sonia's trip is significant as it will coincide with the UN General Assembly session and comes at a time when Indo-US relations are on a new high.

By Saurabh Shukla

DELHI India's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council has been torpedoed by the 53-member African Union's (au) rejection of the G-4 proposal, which sought to include six more nations, without veto powers, in the Security Council. The au wanted the six new members to have veto powers. While the G-4 might not withdraw its resolution, it has no choice but to delay the voting as the group is way short of the necessary 128 votes. "We feel let down by the Africans," says a senior External Affairs Ministry official. It is particularly disappointing as the UPA regime had invested huge political and economic capital in Africa. While South Block did send special envoys, it failed to see through the game of some African nations that had assured support to India. Sources say they were wooed by China and the US who told them to play up the veto issue, which in reality they would never accept. Clearly, the axis of opportunism is gaining currency in diplomacy.

-By Saurabh Shukla

PICTURE SPEAK

The mock funeral procession

Dead Projects

LUCKNOW "Death" is being used frequently as a metaphor to highlight anarchy in Lucknow. Last week, a group of people took out a mock funeral procession, shouting, "Main Lucknow ka vikas hoon. Hukmarano ke haathon bemaut mara gaya (I am Lucknow's development. I was murdered by the rulers)." The procession was aimed at highlighting how the state Government is abandoning development projects launched by former prime minister A.B. Vajpayee, Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow. BJP leader Amit Puri came up with the idea of the funeral after a man fell to his death from an under-construction flyover in the capital. Puri says funds earmarked for projects in Lucknow have been diverted for the development of Mulayam Singh Yadav's home town of Saifai and the Etawah and Mainpuri districts. On the other hand, Vajpayee's projects lie incomplete.

-By Farzand Ahmed

OBJECT OF DESIRE

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