Former Union Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday admitted that the then UPA government decided to not retaliate against Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks due to international pressure, especially from the United States, and the stand of the Ministry of External Affairs. The Congress leader further added that though “retribution crossed my mind", the government decided to not take military action.
However, his statement did not go down well with the BJP, which called the admission “too little, too late".
Whole world told us not to start war: Chidambaram
In an interview with a news channel, P Chidambaram, who took over as the Union Home Minister just days after the coordinated terror attacks that claimed the lives of 175 people, said, "The whole world descended upon Delhi to tell us 'don't start a war'."
He stated that Condoleeza Rice, who was then US Secretary of State, flew in two or three days after he took over, to meet him and the Prime Minister. “She said, 'please don't react'. I said this is a decision that the government will take. Without disclosing any official secret, it did cross my mind that we should do some act of retribution," he said.
Chidambaram says he discussed possible retaliation with Prime Minister
The Congress leader also added that he discussed a possible retaliation with the Prime Minister and "other people who mattered."
He said the Prime Minister had discussed this even when the attack was going on and the conclusion was, largely influenced by the Ministry of External Affairs, and the IFS, that India should not physically react to the situation.
BJP reacts to P Chidambaram’s remarks
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi stated that the former Home Minister had admitted that the country already knew that the Mumbai attacks were "mishandled due to pressure from foreign powers."
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala alleged that Chidambaram was initially reluctant to take charge as Home Minister in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, wanted military action against Pakistan, but "others prevailed".
Moreover, he questioned whether senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi or then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had blocked the move, claiming that the UPA government appeared to act under the influence of Condoleezza Rice.
What happened in Mumbai on November 26, 2008
It should be noted that on November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out attacks on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj train station; the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, the Leopold Cafe, the Cama Hospital, and the Nariman House. Later, Ajmal Kasab, one of the terrorists who was caught by the Mumbai Police, was executed in 2012.
