Never said that US stopped us from retaliating after the 26/11 attack, says Chidambaram

New Delhi, Oct 1 Hours after his remarks on the UPA government's decision not to retaliate militarily against Pakistan following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks created a political controversy, senior Congress leader and former Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday said that he never actually said that the "US stopped us from retaliating". 

Taking it to X, he said: "In no part of the interview to Megha Prasad's podcast did I say that 'US stopped us from retaliating after the 26/11 attack".

"Yet, channel after channel and the media and the Twitterati are merrily attributing words to me."

Blaming the media for exacerbating this issue, he said: "These are the perils of talking to the media!"

The matter, which has now snowballed into a major embarrassment for the Congress as the ruling BJP, along with its allies, is blaming the UPA regime and its ministers for not confronting the US pressure, and social media is flooded with anti-Congress posts.

Chidambaram, in the interview in question, had revealed that after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, he was inclined towards retaliatory action against Pakistan but was told to depend on diplomatic efforts.

"I became Home Minister the day after the attack. The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, called me to shift me from Finance to the Home Ministry. When I initially refused, I was told that Mrs (Sonia) Gandhi, who was Congress President at the time, had already made a decision. I asked if I could speak with her, but was told she was out of town. I was instructed to take charge the next morning," Chidambaram said.

The former Union Home Minister also acknowledged that the thought of retaliation had crossed his mind. "It did cross my mind that we should do some act of retribution. I did discuss it with the Prime Minister and other people who mattered. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed this matter when the attack was going on, I can surmise. And the conclusion was largely influenced by the MEA and the IFS that we should not physically react to the situation, but we should employ diplomatic means," he stated.

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