He follows several Maharashtra politicians and ministers, including the former chief minister and current Federal Heavy Industry Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and the BJP leader and deputy opposition Lok Sabha leader Gopinath Munde, who have tried to be net savvy and started their personal websites, which soon become defunct or not updated.
Bureaucrats in the secretariat ponder as to whom Patil would communicate with in English on these websites when his command of the language is reportedly poor.
A bureaucrat from the state home ministry said that someone from his staff would be a translator and look after Patil’s account.
“Patil is thinking of the Internet to collect information directly from the people,” said one senior bureaucrat.
“In the age of blogging and social networking, he is becoming Net savvy to interact with people, and soon he is going to open an account on Twitter and Facebook. So far, Patil was collecting information through his policemen, but now he would do so through the Internet.”
Patil himself had told journalists that he would soon be visible on Twitter and Facebook, but he refused to divulge any further information.
But Patil’s new move was to increase his PR and reach Maharashtrians globally, relaying his message to them and find out about any malpractices that may be taking place in the state, taking necessary steps to eliminate them, home ministry sources said.
Patil’s move has been lauded in some quarters. While working as deputy chief minister and home minister in the Deshmukh government, he had set up a website so people were saved the trouble of going all the way to meet him at the state secretariat to solve their problems.
Bureaucrats in his ministry had then brought to his notice that the website was not being updated.
In December 2009 Patil handed over the reins of the NCP state presidentship to another senior minister, Madhukar Pichad. However, Patil’s website still describes him as the state NCP president. The minister has admitted to the flaws in his website and promised to update it, although it still remains unchanged.
