Manish Tewari exposes UPA govt blunders during 26/11, says '26/11 response should have been stronger'

New Delhi, Nov 26: The saga of Congress creating controversies are being continued as Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari’s has criticized the UPA government in responding to Pakistan sponsored November 26, 2008, Mumbai terror attacks. The statements by the Congress leader about the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in his forthcoming book have put the Congress party in a bad spotlight.

 

Tewari, Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib and the national spokesperson of the party, has introduced his book '10 Flashpoints; 20 Years'. In this book, Tewari observes that India should have acted strongly against Pakistan after the terror attacks as restraint against Islamabad is perceived as a symbol of weakness.

 

 

“For a state that has no compunctions in brutally slaughtering hundreds of innocent people, restraint is not a sign of strength; it is perceived as a symbol of weakness. There comes a time when actions must speak louder than words. 26/11 was one such time when it just should have been done. It, therefore, is my considered opinion that India should have actioned a kinetic response in the days following India’s 9/11,” he has written.

 

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury hit out at Tewari, saying the book will “sell like hot cakes and the salesman will be the BJP”. Speaking on the same matter, in-charge of BJP’s National Information and Technology Department Amit Malviya tweeted: “After Salman Khurshid, another Congress leader throws UPA under the bus to sell his book. Manish Tewari in his new book slams the UPA for weakness in the name of restraint post 26/11. Air Chief Marshal Fali Major is already on record saying IAF was ready to strike but UPA froze.”

 

 

Earlier, a controversy erupted over Congress leader Salman Khurshid’s observation in his book equating political Hindutva with “jihadist” Islam of groups like Islamic State and Boko Haram of Nigeria. This had resulted in war of words on social media as well as from BJP and Congress.