New Delhi, Oct 4 (PTI) After the 2008 Mumbai terror strike, the Congress-led UPA government did not take any strong action against Pakistan as it “succumbed to the US pressure”, the BJP charged on Saturday as it targeted the opposition party over the recent remarks of its leaders P Chidambaram and Manish Tewari.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia asked the Congress’ top leadership to clarify why the Manmohan Singh government allowed foreign “interference” in India’s internal matters.
He demanded that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi come clean on the “revelations” made by former Union minister Chidambaram in a recent interview to a news channel.
Bhatia noted that Chidambaram, who was the Union Home Minister then, said in the interview that the entire world had descended on New Delhi to stop it from taking any action against Pakistan in retaliation against the terror strike.
The senior Congress leader also said that the then US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, had asked him and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “not to react”, he said.
“And, no strong action was taken,” the BJP spokesperson said.
“When India was waiting for a strong response after the 26/11 attack during the Congress regime, Sonia Gandhi was waiting for directions from Washington. This was the foreign policy of a compromised and weak Congress-led UPA government,” Bhatia alleged.
Congress MP Manish Tewari, who was also a Union minister in the erstwhile UPA government, has also termed the “revelations” made by Chidambaram a matter of “serious concern”, the BJP spokesperson said, citing media reports.
Bhatia said that the opposition was posing questions to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government after the April 22 Pehalgam terror attack despite the Indian armed forces destroying terror launch pads and air bases in Pakistan under Operation Sindoor.
“We want to ask questions today… How were the foreign powers interfering in India’s national security decisions during the Congress government? How did Sonia Gandhi mortgage India’s sovereignty to a foreign power?” he asked.
Bhatia said that Chidamabaram has also noted that the UPA government decided not to retaliate due to international pressure.
“What kind of foreign policy was it?… Where is Rahul Gandhi? Is he not answerable to the people of the country?” Bhatia asked.
“What is the priority of Rahul Gandhi? Is it to just go to a country, be there for four days, hatch a conspiracy against India to weaken India, to defame India, and not answer the pertinent questions being raised by the citizens of our country?” he said.
Taking on Gandhi over his latest remarks in Colombia, Bhatia alleged that the Congress leader “who was partying till 4 AM after the Mumbai terror strike” goes abroad and says on foreign soil that India should not lead the world. “‘Arey aparipakva balak’ (Hey, immature child), will you defame India when you are not able to lead the Congress?” the BJP spokesperson said.
Both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will be remembered as “betrayers” in history, he said.
Bhatia said Indian armed forces were capable enough to teach a befitting lesson to Pakistan after the Mumbai attacks, showing the same valour that they did during Operation Sindoor, but it could not happen because “Sonia Gandhi was asking Manmohan Singh through the remote control to not react”.
“The then Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major had clearly told the Manmohan Singh government that if given a free hand, Pakistan would be taught such a lesson that it would never dare to promote terror activities in India,” the BJP spokesperson said, citing media reports.
Yet, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government could not “muster courage” to retaliate against Pakistan and fulfil its constitutional responsibility of protecting India’s sovereignty because it had become a “puppet of foreign forces”, he said. PTI PK RT
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