NEW DELHI: Former Union home minister P Chidambaram on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on 26/11 and called it “terribly wrong” and “disappointing”.Chidambaram’s remarks came a day after PM Modi, in his Navi Mumbai airport inauguration speech, said that a senior Congress leader admitted India was ready to strike Pakistan after the 2008 attacks, but the then UPA government stopped the military action due to “foreign pressure.”Responding, Chidambaram dismissed the PM’s claims as “terribly wrong” and accused him of twisting facts for political gain.Sharing a post on X, the Congress leader said, “I quote the Hon’ble PM’s words (as reported in ToI): “…..has said India was ready to respond after 26/11, but because of the pressure exerted by some country, then Congress govt stopped India’s armed forces from attacking Pakistan.”“The statement has three parts, and each one of them is WRONG, terribly WRONG. It is disappointing to read that the Hon’ble prime minister of India imagined the words and attributed them to me,” he added.BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari responded to Chidambaram’s recent remark, calling the former union minister to “stop protecting Sonia Gandhi’s soft stance on terror.”In a separate post on X, he said, “Mr Chidambaram, Stop protecting Sonia Gandhi’s soft stand on Terror. I quote P Chidamaram: ‘UPA govt didn’t retaliate against Pakistan after 26/11 because the MEA was against it and, US Secretary of State Rice told us not to go to war.’ Congress did not avenge 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack because of external pressure!”Without naming Chidambaram, PM Modi on Wednesday accused Congress of stopping a military strike on Pakistan after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, allegedly under “foreign pressure.” He did not name Chidambaram in his remarks.Speaking at the inauguration of the Navi Mumbai International Airport and other infrastructure projects in Mumbai, PM Modi said that, “Recently, a senior Congress leader and former Home Minister has revealed that after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, our security forces were ready to attack Pakistan, but due to pressure from another country, the Congress government at the time stopped our security forces.”“Congress needs to tell who made the decision under pressure from a foreign power. The country has all the right to know. Congress’s weakness strengthened the terrorists. The country repeatedly has had to pay for this mistake by sacrificing lives. For us, nothing is more important than national security and the safety of our citizens,” he added, stressing that his government prioritises national security above all else.Modi was referring to comments made by P Chidambaram in an interview to ABP, where he recalled that he had considered a retaliatory strike against Pakistan following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks but was ultimately advised against it. “It did cross my mind that we should do some act of retribution. I did discuss it with the Prime Minister and other people who mattered. The PM had discussed this matter when the attack was going on, I can surmise. And the conclusion was largely influenced by the MEA and the IFS that we should not physically react to the situation, but we should employ diplomatic means,” the Congress leader had said. “The conclusion was reached amid pressure from the world that was descending upon Delhi to tell us that don’t start a war,” he said, adding that the global pressure, including appeals from then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who visited New Delhi to meet him and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh—convinced the UPA government not to launch a strike.Responding to this, PM Modi accused the Congress of “weakening India’s fight against terror,” claiming the party “buckled under foreign pressure” despite the armed forces being ready to act. He further asserted that today’s India gives a “befitting response to terror attacks and strikes by entering inside the home of enemies.”Also read: PM Modi to Congress: Who took call not to hit Pakistan post-26/11?
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