It's almost poetic irony. For five months now, the Congress Party has mocked the Modi Government, accusing it of bowing to Washington's pressure for a ceasefire after Operation Sindoor. But now, one of their own, former Home Minister P Chidambaram, has let slip that the UPA Government itself was ready to strike Pakistan after 26/11, only to back off under advice from the External Affairs Ministry and amidst direct American diplomatic calls not to start a war.