Chidambaram reveals why UPA held back after 26/11, BJP hits out

Former Home Minister P Chidambaram has said that the UPA government refrained from retaliating against Pakistan following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks because of mounting international pressure and the advice of India’s diplomatic establishment.

He admitted, “retribution crossed my mind,” but explained that the government eventually chose not to respond with force.

The statement has sparked a political storm, with BJP leaders accusing the Congress-led government of bowing to foreign influence and mishandling a national security crisis.

In a recent interview, Chidambaram recalled the days after the terror strike that killed 175 people. “The whole world descended upon Delhi to tell us 'don't start a war',” he said, adding that then US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice flew to India within days of the incident. “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 recounted.

He added that the matter was deliberated with the Prime Minister and senior officials. “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 noted.

The 26/11 assault was carried out by ten Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives, who struck several locations across Mumbai including the Taj Mahal Palace, Oberoi Trident, CST station, Leopold Café, Cama Hospital, and Nariman House. The lone surviving terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, was executed in 2012.

BJP’s Response

Chidambaram’s remarks drew immediate pushback from the BJP. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said his words confirmed what many suspected—that the UPA “mishandled” the crisis due to external pressure.

Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala accused Chidambaram of reluctance to take charge as Home Minister after the attacks and suggested that “others prevailed” over his preference for military action. He asked whether Sonia Gandhi or then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had blocked retaliation, alleging that Washington’s pressure dictated UPA’s decisions.

“Why was UPA taking orders from her? Why did Sonia Gandhi prevail over the Home Minister?” Poonawalla questioned.

He further charged the Congress with giving Pakistan a “clean chit” over the 2008 attacks and the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast, while pushing a “Hindu terror” theory. He also criticised the UPA for extending Most Favoured Nation (MFN) trade status to Pakistan despite repeated attacks and accused the party of continuing to “doubt” India’s military strikes against Islamabad.