Harichandan slams Cong over 26/11 attack response

Bhubaneswar: After former Union minister P Chidambaram’s revelation that the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government considered military retaliation after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks but refrained due to US pressure and diplomatic advice, Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan, on Tuesday, took a jibe at the Congress, saying that it is high time that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi confesses the same revelation as the former Union home minister.

Harichandan said during the 10-year rule of the Congress-led UPA government, they functioned under some unknown pressure and took decisions that compromised the nation’s security. He also said that Chidambaram has finally acknowledged the matter, and that Rahul Gandhi should now also come forward and admit it.

On the other hand, the BJP government also launched a scathing attack on the Congress, demanding an apology from Chidambaram and Sonia Gandhi. Reacting to Chidambaram’s comments, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “This is not shocking at all. We have been saying this for a long time. This was their weakness. Why did Chidambaram suddenly remember all this after so many years?”

Chidambaram, in a recent interview, said, “Two or three days after I took charge as the Union home minister, the then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came to meet me and the prime minister to say, ‘Please don’t react.’ I said it’s a decision for the government to take. But an act of retribution did cross my mind.” The senior Congress leader also revealed that the then prime minister Manmohan Singh had discussed potential retaliation while the terror attacks were still ongoing. However, the UPA government was ultimately advised by the Ministry of External Affairs and senior diplomats not to react militarily.