Chidambaram’s Comment on Pahalgam Attack Sparks Political Exchange with BJP

India news today: Reacting to his statement that Rafale jets were stolen from HAL and brought by Dassault, Ravi Shankar Prasad also took on A K Antony, who had said the government had inducted a lesser number of fighter jets.

Ravi Shankar Prasad also came down heavily on Vadra’s statement on Muslims feeling suppressed, as well as on Aiyar’s comment that the hangover of Partition was not yet over.

Senior Congress party leader and former home minister P Chidambaram on Friday asked a range of questions on the Union government’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack and the following Operation Sindoor.

In an interview to The Quint, Chidambaram alleged that the government transparency on some aspects of the incident. “Tell me, what are they not revealing?” he asked in an interview.

“Where are the terrorist attackers? “Why are the identities and the arrests of the perpetrators not disclosed? We have learnt that a few local residents who gave shelter to the perpetrators were arrested. What happened to them?” he asked, referring to the April 22 attack on the Jammu and Kashmir tourist bus at Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed.

He said what is also “deeply disturbing” is the lack of clear and consistent communication from authorities. “We hear bits and pieces from different functionaries,” he added.

Asked if he thought the government might be hiding information, Chidambaram replied, “It’s a hypothesis but my hypothesis is that they’re trying to hide their tactical missteps which forced a change of strategy in Operation Sindoor.”

“The CDS hinted at that. What tactical mistakes were made? What was the re-strategising? The BJP government so far has not given satisfactory answers to such questions and Chidambaram has reasons to be suspicious that the government has neither the ability nor the will to do so.”

The former Union Minister further said the government is not being transparent. “In any war, both sides have casualties. We should acknowledge it. I’m sure India had losses as well and the government must say so,” he said.