I have never received so many smses, so many e mails, so many calls. Each one of them is angry, very angry. Every one wants something done, done right now. To redeem the lives lost, to regain the dignity of this great city that was brought to its knees for 60 long hours—with the whole world watching. For us Mumbaikars, South Bombay is the heart of the city and the Taj a towering symbol of its remarkable art, culture, architecture, heritage. Café Leopold is the iconic café we all go to when friends come from overseas. The Oberoi at Nariman Point is our pride as one of the world's great business hotels. To see them devastated like this kills us. I don't have to tell you this. Read the angry blogs. Read the editorials. Listen to TV. Most important, listen to your own heart. It will tell you what every Mumbaikar is saying today. Enough is enough. We won't be taken for granted any more. The body count is far too high this time.
The villains are obvious. They are the netas who loot this city and do nothing for us. They are too busy calculating the FSI they can gift to their builder friends. They are too busy selling off public land to private developers. They are too busy wheeling and dealing, hacking mangroves, grabbing slums, flaunting their gun toting security and holding up traffic, red lights flashing on their cars. They are modern India's most despised bunch of opportunists. Even in crises times like this, they are too busy, too preoccupied to even ask for timely security reinforcements. It's shameful that we lost so many hostages, so many innocent lives simply because Vilasrao and Shivraj Patil simply didn't think it important enough to activate the terror alert two hours earlier. Warning after warning had been ignored, from intelligence agencies and local citizen groups. It's late I know but the fact that the foolish fop has been finally booted out of the cabinet is a face saver for a Government teetering on the edge only because it had the stupidest, laziest, most incompetent Home Minister ever in the annals of Indian history—and the only one who changed his attire thrice in the midst of a national crisis.
The other two who must go are Vilasrao and RR Patil. Every time either of them appeared on TV, people loudly booed. Vilasrao had nothing even half intelligent to say. He's the face of obscene failure. He's not just an embarrassment to his party. He is the shame of Mumbai and unless he's quickly removed, the Congress can kiss goodbye to its chances of ever regaining public confidence. The people have suffered him for too long. They have tolerated his ineptitude, his bleeding heart for builders and Raj Thackeray, his inability to maintain law and order and stop the harassment of so-called outsiders to the city and his covert support to the MNS. His game's up now. He must go. And he must take with him Tweedledee, his pint-sized deputy, who warns that big cities must learn to live with terrorism. Never was a more inapt statement made in public by a person holding such high political office. If Tweedledee and Tweedledum are not forced to step down, the Congress-NCP combine can retire from politics.
The third object of popular hate is Raj Thackeray. Every second sms going around mocks him. After all, when the local Government abjectly failed to deal with the crisis, who came and liberated Mumbai? The much maligned outsiders who Raj Thackeray wanted to throw out came in as marine commandos, NSG forces, army troops to fight back the terrorists and save Mumbai's izzat. Many gave their lives as well. The father of slain commando Major Unnikrishnan reflected the mood of the entire nation when threw out all politicians from his son's funeral in Bangalore and called the Kerala CM who came to offer condolences "a dog" and refused him entry. This is the mood against politicians. Everyone sees them as scum. So it's best they stay in hiding for a while. The Indian flag is flying high; not regional or communal rhetoric. Mumbai is no more just Maharashtra's capital. It is the symbol of India's brave battle against terrorism. No single community can lay claim to this city. It belongs to all Indians. They won it back.
That's why no one gave a damn what Narendra Modi said. No one's interested in divisive politics any more. In fact, Hemant Karkare's widow said it all when she told Modi to take his Rs 1 crore and stuff it. TV commentators ridiculed Munde when he turned up near Nariman House in the midst of the siege, trying to make political capital. Only those who can extend a healing hand, who can see beyond their narrow and devious political objectives and work towards the rebuilding of faith in Mumbai are welcome. Only those who can securitize the future of Mumbai's citizens and can offer them courage, hope, and a quantum of solace will be the new heroes of this city. The old gang can eff off. Modern India needs a modern polity that can deal with modern crises. The time for wheeling and dealing is over.
Let us drive out of Mumbai all those who want to cash in on this tragedy. Let us rebuild The City of Dreams as it once was, for everyone who loved it, cared for it and gave their lives for it. The rest can go to hell.
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