The railways and coal minister also termed the erstwhile UPA government-led by Dr Manmohan Singh as a "coward government" for failing to respond to 26/11 attack.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh was only concerned about getting his son, Riteish Deshmukh, a role in a Bollywood movie even when Mumbai was under a terror attack. He was alluding to the terror attack which rocked the country's financial capital on November 26, 2008.
"I am from Mumbai. You may remember the 26/11 terror attack. The then Congress government was weak and could not do anything. The chief minister at that time [Vilasrao Deshmukh] was busy with a film producer outside the Oberoi Hotel -- while shooting and bombing was going on inside. He was concerned about getting his son a role in a movie," Piyush Goyal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
He said this while addressing the business community in Punjab's Ludhiana on Sunday.
The railways and coal minister also termed the erstwhile UPA government-led by Dr Manmohan Singh as a "coward government" for failing to respond to 26/11 attack.
"Our armed forces were capable then too, but the decision was to be taken by the leadership. The security forces kept hoping that they would be allowed to give a befitting reply but they were not allowed to take action. That was a coward government," he added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made national security a poll plank in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls with its leaders referring to surgical strikes post-Uri and airstrike in Pakistan's Balakot as examples of the party's "zero-tolerance" policy on terrorism.
(With inputs from agencies)
