Former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram revealed that the UPA government chose not to retaliate against Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks due to international pressure and the External Affairs Ministry’s position. He admitted “retribution crossed my mind,” but BJP leaders slammed the disclosure as “too little, too late.”
00:00More news coming in. India's biggest terror fight letdown.
00:04Chidambaram reveals UPA terror in action since bowed to global pressure spared Pakistan.
00:10166 dead. Congress abandoned them.
00:1426-11 revenge was something that Congress did not take is what the ex-home minister has said.
00:21UPA buckled under global pressure.
00:24Mantri Kiran Rajuji has attacked Congress's 26-11 kid gloves.
00:27He said India paid the price for Congress's sins.
00:35Former Home Minister P. Chidambaram has spoken about the fact that India at that point in time buckled under global pressure.
00:43And treated Pakistan with kid gloves is what has been indicated.
00:47Something that has been told by Kiran Rajuji already.
00:55166 people were dead.
00:57Congress abandoned the 26-11 revenge.
01:01P. Chidambaram, who was not the Home Minister at that point in time, has now spoken about this.
01:07But he, of course, served as the Home Minister during the UPA regime.
01:11He's spoken about the fact that he has stopped us from acting against Pakistan.
01:15It's a big confession on the part of the former Home Minister.
01:19This international treasure, which led the UPA government to refrain from retaliating against Pakistan, is what former Home Minister P. Chidambaram has said.
01:31These comments, of course, have ignited a fierce backlash from the BJP, labeling the admission as too little, too late.
01:39He said the Congress said UPA government had decided to not retaliate against Pakistan after the Mumbai terror attacks due to intense international pressure as well as the Ministry of External Affairs stance.
01:55Piyush is getting in more details on that story.
01:59Piyush, the fact is that P. Chidambaram, of course, served as the Home Minister at that point in time, was not the Home Minister when 26-11 took place.
02:08He has spoken about the fact that internally as well, there were problems.
02:12And that's the reason why there was never any retribution in that sense.
02:16Of course, giving enough opportunity to the BJP to go against and to criticize these comments against them, isn't it?
02:27Well, absolutely, Sanya.
02:29We will see more leaders, union ministers of BJP to come out and slam P. Chidambaram.
02:35And the then-Congress government, UPA government for not taking actions after the 2008 terror attacks.
02:42Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kroon Rijidu, has come out with a post.
02:47And let me quote what he said.
02:49And I quote,
02:49The country paid heavy price for the sins committed by the Congress Party.
02:53Time has changed.
02:54India won't tolerate any terrorist attack now.
02:57So that's the message which the government is saying that,
03:00sending that we are not going to tolerate any kind of terror attack
03:04and will retaliate back strongly.
03:06And that's what we also saw, Sanya, during the Operation Sindhuur.
03:10You know, when the Pelagam terror attack happened,
03:12after that the government carried out multiple strikes against the terror camps in Pakistan.
03:19Still, the government has made it very clear that the Operation Sindhuur has not concluded
03:24it can resume any day, you know, if Pakistan carried out any kind of terrorist attack.
03:30So the intention is clear of the government.
03:32I'll come back to you for more on that.
03:34But in fact, Tom Wadakin of the Bharatiya Janta Party is with us.
03:37Tom Wadakin, you know, this is an admission from the former Home Minister,
03:41who was not the Home Minister when the attacks took place in Mumbai.
03:46You know, but the fact is that he speaks about the fact that there was a great amount of pressure
03:49from the U.S. and that they did buckle under pressure,
03:53is what Pichu Dambaram is now saying.
03:55Sanya, this is all going to be counterproductive for the Congress Party.
04:05They're trying to say we also would have done the same had the international pressure not come in.
04:11The fact of the matter was not the Home Minister at that juncture.
04:15Mr. Patel was the Home Minister.
04:19Now, we were closely watching the situation.
04:22There was a standby arrangement of the security team that was stopped for 24 hours.
04:31I'm sure that was not under international pressure.
04:35They delayed it.
04:37So there is a theory that is running around, which is supported by facts of the time,
04:44that, yes, there was an internal pressure from the Congress leadership not to take action.
04:52This international pressure may have happened, I'm not denying that,
05:00but the government, the sovereign government of India says that because of foreign pressure,
05:05we did not retaliate.
05:08The fact of the matter is, retaliation was called for at that juncture.
05:13If it had been done, we would not have seen these bad days.
05:16And let me add that this is also an indication that the new India will not tolerate terrorism.
05:25Anytime any attack happens, Operation Sindhu is a continuous process.
05:32We are on full alert.
05:34Any attempt to enter into our territory or do damage, we will retaliate on those terrorists.
05:41Our operations are not against civilians.
05:43Our operations will be against these terrorist camps and their mentors.
05:50Let that be clear.
05:51This is a new India under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi ji.
05:56You know, these comments, of course, speak volumes of how there was a sense of, you know,
06:02there was a sense of pressure that the Congress government felt at that point in time
06:07and also the fact that it decided to succumb under pressure is what is troublesome here
06:12because he goes on to talk about the fact that he was not the Home Minister,
06:16but he did communicate to whoever mattered is what he says,
06:19that there has to be retribution, there has to be military action,
06:23and that this was decided that there will not be any retribution in that sense.
06:27And this is disappointing, you know, to say the least, isn't it, Tom Wadakin,
06:32the very fact that just 166 people lost their lives in that fashion.
06:36Why would Congress government succumb to that sort of pressure is an answer that the Congress must answer at this point in time,
06:44a question that the Congress must answer.
06:45Well, it is certainly for the Congress party to answer these questions.
06:52And I'm sure this is Chitam Ramam's attempt to wash his hands of that period.
06:58He is informed who he is informed of questions.
07:03It's either Sonia Gandhi is informed.
07:05And it is the same Sonia Gandhi who had ordered through the government of the day
07:13to stop the security forces that was waiting.
07:18And the delay explains that the attack took its toll.
07:26And now when they come out with this kind of explanation, international pressure,
07:31that means your government had failed, literally.
07:34Not only was it an intelligence failure,
07:36but it was also the kind of thought process that guided Mrs. Gandhi's government,
07:44I don't want to say Manmoun Singh's government,
07:47Mrs. Gandhi's government, which she was doing backseat driving.
07:52So let's put the situation very clear.
07:55Mrs. Gandhi was running the government.
07:58Tom Wadakin, I'm going to leave it there for the moment.
08:00I'm thanking you for joining in with your thoughts.
08:02That's the BJP there saying that the Congress has got some serious answering to do.
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