"US Said 'Don't Start A War'": P Chidambaram's 26/11 Admission, BJP Pounces

India considered military retaliation against Pakistan - after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks - but decided against it amid pressure from the international community, including the United States, and the advice of senior diplomats, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, said Monday.

The admission has been pounced on by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which was heavily criticised by the opposition, including the Congress, after the Operation Sindoor ceasefire; this was after US President Donald Trump claimed he told Delhi and Islamabad to stop fighting, and they listened.

All of this played out in the days after terrorists from the Pak-based Lashkar-e-Taiba - also responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack in April this year - slaughtered 175 people in coordinated strikes.

Chidambaram, the Home Minister in the then-ruling Congress-led UPA government, told a Hindi news channel "the whole world descended on Delhi to tell us 'don't start a war'".

This included a conversation with ex-United States Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and it persuaded the government to reconsider an armed response, the Congress leader said.

"Two or three days after I took over (Condoleeza Rice came) to meet me and the Prime Minister (then, Dr Manmohan Singh) ... to say 'please don't react'. I said this is a decision which the government will take. (But) ... an act of retribution did cross my mind."

"The Prime Minister discussed this (retaliatory military action) even when the attack was going on... and the conclusion, largely influenced by the Ministry of External Affairs and the IFS (Indian Foreign Service), was that we should not physically react to the situation," he said.

Chidambaram's remarks were picked up by Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, who posted a clip from the interview on X and mocked the former Home Minister and his party.

Photo Credit: Posted on X by @JoshiPralhad

"After 17 years, Chidambaram, Former Home Minister admits what the nation knew - 26/11 was mishandled due to pressure from foreign powers. Too little, too late."

The BJP's Shehzad Poonawala chipped in with a reference to ex-Congress chief Sonia Gandhi into the debate. "Why was the UPA taking orders from her? Why did she prevail over the Home Minister?" he asked, also questioning other Pak-related decisions taken by the UPA government.

Photo Credit: Posted on X by @Shehzad_Ind

The BJP has repeatedly said the May 10 ceasefire was the result of direct talks between the Pakistan and Indian military directors, and no third party, including the US, played a role.

However those statements, including a one-on-one conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, have failed to check the US leader from making his claim - of having "sure as hell helped" negotiate an end to nearly 100 hours of military conflict.

Op Sindoor was India's military response to the Pahalgam terror attack. It involved precision air strikes on nine terrorist camps and bases in Pak and Pak-occupied Kashmir. Pak responded with missile and drone strikes, triggering an intense period of conflict, the first between the two countries since 1971.

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