India had considered military action against Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks but stepped back under international pressure, including from the United States, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram revealed on Monday.
The BJP quickly reacted to Chidambaram’s statement. The party had earlier faced criticism from the opposition, including Congress, over the Operation Sindoor ceasefire. That was after Donald Trump claimed he told India and Pakistan to stop fighting, and they agreed.
Chidambaram, who was Home Minister in the Congress-led UPA government at the time, told a Hindi news channel that “the whole world came to Delhi and told us not to start a war.”
What P. Chidambaram said
“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 two or three days after I took over… to say, ‘please don’t react’,” the Former finance minister 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 we should not physically react to the situation,” he recalled.
BJP’s reaction
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla wrote on X, “Why was UPA taking orders from [Condoleezza Rice]? Why did Sonia Gandhi prevail over the Home Minister?” Union Minister Pralhad Joshi reacted to Chidambaram’s statements made during an interview. He wrote on X, “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.”
Mumbai terror attack
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. They carried out 12 shooting and bombing attacks over four days across Mumbai. 175 people were killed, including nine of the attackers, with more than 300 injured. Later, Ajmal Kasab, one of the terrorists who was caught by the Mumbai Police, was executed in 2012.
