Overview

• The former home minister said “retribution crossed my mind,” but the government chose not to “physically react,” a decision he attributed largely to advice from the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Foreign Service.
• Chidambaram said Rice flew to India two to three days after he took office and asked the leadership “please don’t react,” describing broad international appeals to avoid war.
• BJP leaders called the remarks “too little, too late,” accused the UPA of buckling to foreign pressure, and pressed Chidambaram and Sonia Gandhi to apologise while questioning whether senior Congress figures overruled retaliation.
• Reports revisited key facts of the 2008 attacks by 10 Lashkar‑e‑Taiba gunmen that killed more than 160 people, with Ajmal Kasab captured by Mumbai Police and executed in 2012.
• The ruling party contrasted the UPA’s restraint with later military actions in 2016, 2019 and 2025, and coverage noted that Chidambaram’s account is public testimony without new official documents.