Overview
- Speaking in Mumbai after inaugurating the Navi Mumbai International Airport, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the UPA government halted a planned strike on Pakistan due to pressure from a foreign country and asked Congress to disclose who made that call.
- Modi contrasted the UPA-era response with what he described as today’s more forceful posture, citing Operation Sindoor as evidence of decisive cross-border action after the Pahalgam attack.
- P. Chidambaram, whose recent podcast recounting 2008 deliberations mentioned diplomatic pressure and advice from the MEA and IFS, posted on X that the prime minister misattributed words to him and called the characterization “terribly wrong.”
- Chidambaram has said the thought of retribution arose but the government opted for diplomatic measures as global actors, including then US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, urged restraint.
- The exchange prompted immediate partisan reactions, with BJP and allied leaders backing Modi’s criticism and Congress accusing him of politicising a tragedy, while no new documentary evidence or official declassification has been presented.