Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram revealed on Monday that the UPA government considered military retaliation against Pakistan following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks but ultimately refrained due to intense international pressure, particularly from the United States, and advice from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). In an interview with a Hindi news channel, Chidambaram, who assumed the Home Ministry portfolio days after the November 26-29 assaults that killed 175 people, disclosed that "the whole world descended on Delhi to tell us, 'don't start a war.'" He specifically recounted a meeting with then-US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who urged restraint, influencing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision to pursue diplomatic channels instead.
This admission, made 17 years later, has ignited a fresh political firestorm, with the BJP accusing the Congress of weakness and drawing parallels to the opposition's recent "surrender" jibes at the Modi government's handling of the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict.
The 26/11 attacks, orchestrated by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants who infiltrated Mumbai via sea, targeted luxury hotels, a railway station, and a Jewish centre in a coordinated assault that paralysed the financial capital for nearly 60 hours. Chidambaram, reflecting on the crisis, admitted that "an act of retribution did cross my mind" even as the siege unfolded, but MEA officials "prevailed and convinced the government that attacking Pakistan was a bad idea." He emphasised that while the cabinet discussed options mid-attack, global diplomacy—including Rice's intervention two to three days after his appointment—tipped the scales toward de-escalation.
This approach led to enhanced intelligence sharing with Pakistan and international pressure on Islamabad to dismantle terror networks, though critics at the time lambasted it as soft-pedalling, allowing perpetrators like Ajmal Kasab (executed in 2012) to be tried domestically rather than triggering cross-border strikes.
The BJP swiftly capitalised on Chidambaram's candid remarks, framing them as validation of long-standing accusations that the UPA prioritised foreign appeasement over national security. Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi shared a clip on X, stating, "After 17 years, Chidambaram admits what the nation knew—26/11 was mishandled due to pressure from foreign powers. Too little, too late." BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla escalated the attack, questioning Sonia Gandhi's role: "Why was the UPA taking orders from her? Why did she prevail over the Home Minister?" He linked it to other UPA decisions, like the controversial Sharm el-Sheikh joint statement in 2009.
Social media erupted with BJP supporters contrasting UPA's restraint with the NDA's "muscular" responses: the 2016 surgical strikes after Uri, the 2019 Balakot airstrikes post-Pulwama, and Operation Sindoor in May 2025 following the Pahalgam attack. The operation, India's precision strikes on nine LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed camps in Pakistan and PoK, targeted infrastructure linked to the April 22 Pahalgam assault that killed 26 civilians, mostly Hindu tourists, in a sectarian attack claimed (then retracted) by LeT offshoot The Resistance Front (TRF).
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The BJP's retort ties directly to ongoing debates over Operation Sindoor's ceasefire on May 10, 2025, after nearly 100 hours of escalating exchanges—India's missile barrages met with Pakistani drone and artillery fire, the first major clash since 1971. Trump claimed credit for brokering the truce, stating he "sure as hell helped" via talks with Modi, prompting Congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi to label it a "surrender". The BJP insists it resulted from direct DGMO-level (Director General of Military Operations) dialogue, dismissing third-party involvement, though a Modi-Trump call occurred amid the standoff.
At the UN General Assembly on September 26, India's First Secretary Petal Gahlot asserted Pakistan's military "pleaded" for cessation, reinforcing no external mediation was needed. Chidambaram's comments, shared widely on X with clips amassing millions of views, have amplified the narrative, with users like @SirohiGulshan highlighting the irony: "UPA Home Minister admits Congress didn’t avenge 26/11 due to US pressure. And Rahul Gandhi uses 'surrender' for the Narendra Modi government after Operation Sindoor."
Congress insiders defend Chidambaram's candour as historical reflection, not hypocrisy, noting the UPA's focus on evidence-based diplomacy exposed LeT's role without risking broader war. Yet, as the 2024 Lok Sabha echoes fade into the 2025 state polls, the exchange revives UPA's "soft on terror" tag, contrasting NDA's proactive doctrine. With Pahalgam's wounds fresh—TRF's initial claim retracted amid hacks, per investigations—the row underscores enduring Indo-Pak fault lines, where memory shapes policy.
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