P Chidambaram Refutes PM Modi's Claims on UPA's Response to 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks

P Chidambaram has responded to PM Modi's allegations regarding India's inaction after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks

Mumbai:

Senior Congress leader and former Home Minister P Chidambaram has responded forcefully after Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that the UPA government refrained from attacking Pakistan following the 26/11 terror attacks in 2008 "because of pressure exerted by some country".

The Prime Minister referenced "a senior Congress leader, who even served as a Home Minister," without directly naming Chidambaram. However, the allusion was evident as Chidambaram had recently discussed the 26/11 attacks during an interview.

In response to the Prime Minister's assertions, Chidambaram posted on X: "I quote the Hon'ble PM's words (as reported in ToI): '.....has said India was ready to respond after 26/11, but because of the pressure exerted by some country, then Congress government stopped India's armed forces from attacking Pakistan'."

"The statement has three parts, and each one of them is wrong, terribly wrong. It is disappointing to read that the Honourable Prime Minister of India imagined the words and attributed them to me," the former Home Minister stated.

At the inauguration of the Navi Mumbai international airport yesterday, the Prime Minister described Mumbai as one of India's most vibrant cities. "That is why terrorists chose Mumbai for a major attack in 2008. But the Congress government in power then sent a message of weakness, a message of surrender to terrorism," he declared.

"Recently, a senior Congress leader, who even served as the former Home Minister, revealed big things in an interview. He claimed that after the Mumbai attack, our forces were ready to attack Pakistan. The entire country wanted the same. But according to that Congress leader, the then government stopped India's forces from taking action due to pressure from another country. Congress must tell us who made this decision under foreign pressure, who played with Mumbai's national sentiment. The country has the right to know. This weakness of Congress strengthened the terrorists and weakened national security, a price repeatedly paid by the country in lives lost," the Prime Minister asserted.

In a recent interview, the former Home Minister acknowledged that he had contemplated retaliation after the 26/11 attacks. "It did cross my mind that we should do some act of retribution. I did discuss it with the Prime Minister and other people who mattered. The Prime Minister had discussed this matter when the attack was going on, I can surmise. And the conclusion was largely influenced by the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) and the IFS (Indian Foreign Service) that we should not physically react to the situation, but we should employ diplomatic means," he explained.

"The conclusion was reached amid pressure from the world that was descending upon Delhi to tell us that don't start a war," he had stated, according to news agency ANI.