New Delhi - Indian Federal Home Minister Shivraj Patil resigned Sunday, taking responsibility for last week's deadly Mumbai terrorist attacks, officials and news reports said. Patil offered to step down at a Congress Party meeting Saturday night, owning "moral responsibility" for the attacks that killed more than 180 people.
"Yes, Shivraj Patil has taken the moral responsibility and decided to quit," said Jayanthi Natarajan, spokeswoman for the party leads the ruling United Progressive Alliance.
"The government has taken what happened in Mumbai very seriously. The most important thing is to protect the country and its citizens," she said.
Patil's resignation was accepted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Finance Minister P Chidambaram was given additional charge of heading up the Home Ministry, the IANS news agency reported, quoting Congress party leader Ramesh Chennithala.
Patil had faced widespread criticism for failing to ensure domestic security even as the Singh government was under increasing pressure to take a tougher line against terrorism.
