UPA govt did not take action against Pakistan after 26/11 under 'foreign pressure': Patra

Bhubaneswar, Oct 4 (PTI) BJP MP Sambit Patra on Saturday claimed the previous UPA government at the Centre did not take action against Pakistan after the 26/11 attack under "foreign pressure".

Addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar, he said that before 2014, the Indian armed forces had the valour, but the country's leadership lacked the political will to act against Pakistan.

He alleged that the then UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi might have asked then PM Manmohan Singh, under pressure from US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, "not to take kinetic action against Pakistan", even as around 160 people were killed in the Mumbai attack.

To back his claims, Patra cited a recent interview of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram.

He quoted Chidambaram as saying in the interview, "The whole world descended on New Delhi to stop the act of physical retributions against Pakistan." He said Chidambaram's statement cannot be disregarded as he was the home minister of the country at that time.

"Before 2014, the Indian armed forces had the valour, but the country's leadership lacked the political will. This changed after 2014 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the nation got a strong armed force and a strong political will," he said.

Patra also claimed that former foreign minister Natwar Singh, in his autobiography, wrote that the UPA government used to pick cabinet ministers after consulting the US. PTI AAM AAM SOM