"Condoleeza Rice, who was then US Secretary of State, flew in two or three days after I took over, to meet me and the Prime Minister. And to say, 'please don't react'.
I said this is a decision that the government will take. Without disclosing any official secret, it did cross my mind that we should do some act of retribution," he acknowledged.' -- says senior Congress leader P Chidambaram
US stopped us: Chidambaram's big 26/11 admission, BJP says too little, too late
At the time of the attacks in 2008, the Congress veteran leader was the Union Home Minister.
He revealed that the then US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice had visited India to meet him and the Prime Minister, asking them not to react to the situation.
During an interview with a news channel, Chidambaram, who took over as the Union Home Minister just days after the coordinated terror attacks that claimed the lives of 175 people, said,
"The whole world descended upon Delhi to tell us 'don't start a war"
Chidambaram went on to say that he discussed a possible retaliation with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and "other people who mattered."
"The Prime Minister had discussed this even when the attack was going on... And the conclusion was, largely influenced by the the Ministry of External Affairs, and the IFS, that we should not physically react to the situation," he recalled.
On November 26, 2008, a group of 10 Pakistani terrorists affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba went on a rampage, carrying out attacks on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj train station; the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, the Leopold Cafe, the Cama Hospital, and the Nariman House. Ajmal Kasab, one of the terrorists who was caught by the Mumbai Police, was executed in 2012.
BJP leader an Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the former Home Minister had admitted that the country already knew that the Mumbai attacks were "mishandled due to pressure from foreign powers."
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala alleged that Chidambaram was initially reluctant to take charge as Home Minister in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, wanted military action against Pakistan, but "others prevailed".
He questioned whether senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi or then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had blocked the move, claiming that the UPA government appeared to act under the influence of Condoleezza Rice.
“Why was UPA taking orders from her? Why did Sonia Gandhi prevail over the Home Minister?” Poonawalla queried..
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