BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad

NEW DELHI: BJP on Tuesday launched a major onslaught on Congress over former Union minister P Chidambaram’s statement that foreign pressure restrained the Manmohan Singh govt from retaliating against Pakistan after the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai, saying the country has “paid a heavy price” for sins committed by Congress.BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad said Chidambaram’s comments have raised a big question as to “how weak the govt headed by Singh was”. “P Chidamabram, home minister in the Manmohan Singh govt, has now admitted that after the 26/11 attacks, he favoured retaliatory action against Pakistan, but the external affairs department… did not agree, and Singh remained silent,” he said, seeking answers from Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as to what compulsions prevented them from acting on the home minister’s suggestions. “It took around 16–17 years for Chidambaram to acknowledge that they failed to give a decisive response to Pakistan for the 26/11 attacks. Why was this wisdom kept hidden for so long? It took years to arrive at this realisation; it’s shameful. The foreign ministry and other ministries overruled the matter, and Singh just watched as the country suffered. Hundreds were killed; the attacks were clearly linked to Pakistan-based terrorists.”Contrasting Congress’s response with the surgical strikes, air strikes and Operation Sindoor conducted by India under PM Modi, Prasad asked, “Who was running the country then? Where was Sonia Gandhi?”In a TV interview, Chidambaram said India had considered military retaliation after the 26/11 attacks but chose not to do so, apparently under pressure from other countries. “The whole world was descending upon Delhi to tell us don’t start a war… For example, Condoleezza Rice, who was then (US) secretary of state, flew in two or three days after I took over to meet me and the PM and to say, please don’t react. I said this is a decision which the govt will take.”“Without disclosing any official secret, it did cross my mind that we should do some act of retribution.” he added. Chidambaram said the PM had discussed this even when the attack was going on … and “the conclusion was largely influenced by the MEA and IFS (Indian Foreign Service) that the Indian govt should not physically react to the situation”.BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said that instead of taking action against Pakistan after 26/11 attack, UPA govt just seven months later agreed to address Pakistan’s unsubstantiated accusation about India stoking trouble in Balochistan.