Our Bureau
New Delhi
Senior and reputed Congress leader P Chidambaram has made some shocking revelations this Monday, on September 29th, stating that India had considered military retaliation against Pakistan after the horrific 26/11 Mumbai attacks. However, Chidambaram revealed that they decided against it due to the pressure from the international countries, including the United States, and on the advice of senior diplomats.
Chidambaram, who was the Home Minister in the then-ruling Congress-led UPA government, revealed the incident on a Hindi news channel. He stated that India was looking to retaliate after Pak-based terrorist Lashkar-e-Taiba, also responsible for the Pahalgam terrorist attack, had slaughtered 175 people in coordinated strikes in India. But India was stopped by countries all across the globe and were told “don’t start a war”.
Chidambaram said, “Two or three days after I took over (Condoleeza Rice came) to meet me and the Prime Minister (then, Dr Manmohan Singh) … to say ‘please don’t react’. I said this is a decision which the government will take. (But) … an act of retribution did cross my mind.”
“The Prime Minister discussed this (retaliatory military action) even when the attack was going on… and the conclusion, largely influenced by the Ministry of External Affairs and the IFS (Indian Foreign Service), was that we should not physically react to the situation,” he added.
After this major admission of the Congress-man, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has pounced on the statement. The Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, posted a clip from the interview on his X and mocked the former Home Minister and his party. Joshi wrote, “After 17 years, Chidambaram, former Home Minister, admits what the nation knew – 26/11 was mishandled due to pressure from foreign powers. Too little, too late.”
