.. The meeting convened to discuss the implications of the Maharashtra government's categorical rejection of the Srikrishna Commission Report ... expresses the outrage that the Maharashtra government's handling of the report has evoked in political circles ... If the Maharashtra government now has to face political censure on a national scale, it has only itself to blame. Every inquiry report is meant to testify to a government's commitment to protect the lives of its people ... It is this important principle that Joshi trampled upon in order to protect his party and, specifically, his mentor, Bal Thackeray ...

... By demanding that the Vajpayee government summon an urgent meeting of the National Integration Council on the issue, the nine-party group was clearly castigating the Centre for its apathy ... The Centre's decision to support the Maharashtra government's stand on the report (is) perceived as a politically expedient move to save its coalition partner in Maharashtra.

Srikrishna Commission: Statistics of Hearing

Total days of hearing              :520

Effective days of hearing       :470

No. of Extensions                   :10

Approximate Expenditure      : Over Rs. 1.50 crore

Affidavits filed                       : 2,139 (1,525 by public, 549 by Police, 2 by Govt.)

No. of exhibits                        : 3,439 spread over 12,000 pages

Witnesses Examined               : 504 (333 from public, 170