Congress veteran and former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram made such a statement on the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, after which political storms arose in the country. In an interview to Megha Prasad in ABP News’s podcast, the former Home Minister said that the then UPA government was under heavy international pressure in the 26/11 attack. Now he has clarified this statement.
P. Chidambaram posted on X and wrote, “In an interview to Megha Prasad’s podcast, I did not say that the US had stopped us from taking retaliation after the 26/11 attacks. Despite this, people are adding these statements in my name on all media channels and Twitter. The same threats to talk to the media.”
Regarding retaliation after the 26/11 attack, P Chidambaram said, “At that time, the whole world had flocked in Delhi not to fight with Pakistan. For example America’s Foreign Minister Kondolija Rice came to meet me and the Prime Minister after two or three days after taking my charge. She said that please do not give any response. I said that this is a decision that the government will take.”
In no part of the interview to megha podcast did i say that ‘Us Stopped us from retaliating after the 26/11 Attack’
Yet, Channel after channel and the media and the twitterti are merrily attributing words to me
These are the Perils of Talking to the Media!
– P. chidambaram (@pchidambaram_in) October 1, 2025
The Congress leader had said that he was personally in favor of counter -military action against Pakistan after this horrific terrorist attack, but the government led by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided to move forward under the Foreign Ministry’s approach to use diplomatic measures against the neighboring country. He said that powerful countries including America wanted not to fight with India and Pakistan. Soon after the terrorist attack on 26 November 2008, P. Chidambaram was made the Home Minister. Prior to this he was the Finance Minister.
After this statement of the Congress leader, the BJP became an attacker on him. BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, while questioning Chidambaram’s comments, described the government led by Dr. Manmohan Singh. He said that under the leadership of Modi, India has taken revenge on terrorist attacks related to Pakistan by demolishing the bases of terrorists present in Pakistan.