‘Terribly wrong’: Chidambaram denies PM Modi’s 26/11 remarks

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has denied Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent comments on India’s response to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, saying that these were not correct and “distorted” facts.

In a sharp rebuttal to the Prime Minister’s charge, Chidambaram, in a social media post on X on Thursday, claimed the statements were misattributed to him.

PM Modi, during a public address in Mumbai on Wednesday, said that India was ready to retaliate militarily after the 2008 attacks but was stopped by the Congress-led UPA government due to pressure from a foreign country.

Quoting the Prime Minister’s remarks as reported in the Times of India, Chidambaram posted on X: “I quote the Hon’ble PM’s words: ‘…..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.”

On the day of inaugurating the Navi Mumbai International Airport, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, accusing its leadership of weakening India’s national security in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Addressing a gathering, the Prime Minister described Mumbai as one of India’s most dynamic and vibrant cities, which, he said, was precisely why it became the target of a major terrorist strike.

“Mumbai’s energy and prominence made it a target. But the Congress government at the time responded with weakness — a message of surrender to terrorism,” he said.

PM Modi further referred to a recent interview given by a senior Congress leader who had served as the Union Home Minister during the UPA regime.

Without naming the individual, the Prime Minister said the leader had revealed that India’s Armed Forces were prepared to retaliate against Pakistan following the 26/11 attacks, but were held back due to pressure from a foreign country.

“The entire nation wanted a strong response. Our forces were ready. But the Congress government stopped them. Who exerted that foreign pressure? Who in Congress made that decision? The people of India deserve to know,” PM Modi declared.

He accused the Congress of compromising national sentiment and emboldening terrorists through indecision and external influence.

“This weakness cost us dearly. It strengthened the hands of terrorists and repeatedly endangered innocent lives,” he added.

Chidambaram’s response comes a day after PM Modi referenced a recent interview the Congress leader gave, in which he discussed the UPA government’s decision-making process following the attacks.

The Congress leader, in a podcast early this month, disclosed the details of the events that followed the Mumbai terror attacks. He recounted the decision-making process within the then government and how international diplomatic pressure, particularly from the US, affected and shaped India’s response to the situation.

During the podcast, Chidambaram recalled that he took charge as Home Minister on November 30, 2008, a day after the attacks and immediately following the resignation of Shivraj Patil. He acknowledged that the thought of retaliation had crossed his mind. “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. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 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,” he stated.

Chidambaram said the decision to exercise restraint came under significant global pressure. “The conclusion was reached amid pressure from the world that was descending upon Delhi to tell us — don’t start a war,” he said. He mentioned in the podcast that then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had travelled to Delhi to meet him and the Prime Minister, urging India not to retaliate militarily.

IANS