'Terribly wrong': Chidambaram says PM Modi misquoted him on his 26/11 remark

Speaking at an event, Modi on Wednesday said, "A senior Congress leader, who was the Union Home Minister in the past, has made a big revelation in an interview. He claimed that the Indian Armed Forces were ready to attack Pakistan after 26/11. The entire country also wanted the same but the leader claimed the Congress government stopped the Army from attacking Pakistan under pressure from a foreign country.

"Congress has to reveal who took the call under pressure from a foreign country and played with the emotions of Mumbai and the country. The country is entitled to know the truth. The Congress government's weak stance strengthened terrorists and weakened the country's security and due to which, India paid recurrent heavy prices losing lives."

In response, Chidambaram said on X, "I quote the Hon'ble PM's words (as reported in ToI): '.....has said India was ready to respond after 26/11, but because of the pressure exerted by some country, then Congress govt stopped India's armed forces from attacking Pakistan.'

"The statement has three parts, and each one of them is WRONG, terribly WRONG. It is disappointing to read that the Hon'ble prime minister of India imagined the words and attributed them to me."

What did Chidambaram say on 26/11?

In a recent interview with ABP Live, Chidambaram, who was then the Union Home Minister, embarrassed the Congress stating the US had asked India to not "react" to the attack, which was carried out by 10 terrorists from the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

"The whole world descended upon Delhi to tell us that 'don't start a war," the Congress veteran said.

"Condoleezza Rice, who was the then Secretary of State, flew in two or three days after I took over to meet me and the Prime Minister (then, Dr Manmohan Singh) ... to say 'please don't react'. I said this is a decision which the government will take... it did cross my mind that we should do some act of retribution.

"I did discuss it with the Prime Minister and other people who mattered. Apparently, the Prime Minister had discussed this even when the attack was going on... and the conclusion was, largely influenced by the MEA and the IFS, that we should not physically react to the situation," he added, speaking to the publication.

How did Congress react to Chidambaram's statement?

Congress leader Raashid Alvi has sharply reacted to Chidambaram's admission and told ANI, "Why did he remain silent back then? He should have resigned. What was his compulsion to pass such a remark now? Does he want to weaken Rahul Gandhi?

"His remarks will only weaken the Congress and strengthen BJP at a time Rahul Gandhi is claiming the current government is acting under Trump's pressure. What Chidambaram did is wrong."

Why is Chidambaram's remark crucial at this juncture?

Chidambaram's admission has armed the country's now ruling party BJP, which came under severe criticism from the Opposition after Operation Sindoor was stopped on May 10, 2025.

Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces to bust the terrorist hideouts in PoK and beyond in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.

The BJP had come under Congress' ire after US President Donald Trump first announced the India-Pakistan ceasefire on social media.

Later, Trump claimed he was the broker of the ceasefire deal between India and Pakistan and he used trade as an incentive to stop the military escalation.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has denied any global intervention.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has claimed there was no phone call between Modi and Trump from April 22 to June 17.

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi claimed India "surrendered" during May 7-10 military conflict with Pakistan upon the direction of US President Donald Trump.

"Now I understand BJP-RSS very well. They get scared and run away under pressure like they did in front of Trump. Trump said, 'Modi-ji... what are you doing? Narender, surrender'. Narendra Modi-ji said 'ji huzoor' and acted as per Trump's command," Rahul said.