New Delhi : Former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has revealed that the then UPA government decided not to retaliate against Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks due to intense international pressure, as well as the External Affairs Ministry’s stance. His remarks have drawn sharp criticism from BJP leaders, who called the admission “too little, too late”.
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. Condoleeza Rice, who was then US Secretary of State, flew in two or three days after I took over, to meet me and the Prime Minister. And to say, 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 acknowledged.
Chidambaram went on to say that he discussed a possible retaliation with the Prime Minister and other people who mattered. The Prime Minister had discussed this even when the attack was going on… And the conclusion was, largely influenced by the the Ministry of External Affairs, and the IFS, that we should not physically react to the situation, he recalled. The veteran Congress leader’s remarks did not go down well among BJP leaders, who have criticised him for the admission.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the former Home Minister had admitted that the country already knew that the Mumbai attacks were mishandled due to pressure from foreign powers. While reacting to the remarks, 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.
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