NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sharply criticized former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram following his recent comments about the Congress-led UPA government’s response to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, accusing the party of “mishandling” the incident under foreign pressure.
In a recent interview, Chidambaram admitted that the idea of military retaliation against Pakistan crossed his mind but was ultimately dismissed. He stated that the decision was significantly influenced by the Ministry of External Affairs and senior diplomats. “The whole world descended upon Delhi to tell us ‘don’t start a war.’ Condoleezza Rice, who was then US Secretary of State, flew in shortly after I took over… to say, ‘please don’t react,’” he recalled.
Chidambaram took office as home minister just days after the attacks, which involved ten armed Pakistani terrorists and resulted in over 166 fatalities. He mentioned that he had discussed possible military responses with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other officials. “The Prime Minister had discussed this even while the attack was ongoing… the conclusion was, largely influenced by the Ministry of External Affairs and the IFS, that we should not physically react to the situation,” he stated.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla raised questions about whether Chidambaram’s suggestion for retaliatory action was overridden by Prime Minister Singh or UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. He voiced these concerns on X, asking, “Why was UPA taking orders from Condoleezza Rice? Why did Sonia Gandhi prevail over the Home Minister?”
Poonawalla further accused the Congress party of giving Pakistan “clean chit” for not just the 26/11 attacks but also in the 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing case. He argued that the UPA government promoted a “Hindu terror” narrative and granted Pakistan ‘most-favored nation’ (MFN) status despite ongoing cross-border terrorism incidents. “Congress gave clean chit to Pakistan on 26/11 and Samjhauta and induced Hindu Terror angles. Today too they doubt Surgical Strike, Balakote, and Operation Sindoor,” he added.
The attacks on November 26, 2008, were executed by ten Pakistani terrorists, resulting in a catastrophic loss of life and extensive injuries. One of the attackers, Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive and later executed in 2012.
