Manish Tewari slams UPA govt's response to 26/11 attack: 'Restraint a sign of weakness'

Stirring a controversy, Congress MP Manish Tewari on Tuesday, opined that the UPA govt's response to 26/11 terror attack was not 'kinetic enough'. As per an excerpt released by Tewari from his new book -  '10 Flash Points; 20 Years - National Security Situations that Impacted India', he has lashed out at India's tepid response to Pakistan's cruelty. Tewari served as Union Minister (Independent charge) I&B in UPA-2 from 2012-2014. His fourth book delves into every salient National Security Challenge India has faced in the past two decades.

Tewari: 'India should have actioned a kinetic response to 26/11'

"For a state (Pakistan) 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 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", opined Tewari.

Tewari has also slammed the Modi govt for its response to the Doklam standoff, criticising the shelving of all plans of raising a mountain strike corps against China. He opined, "Mounting pressure on the LAC leading to the Doklam crisis in 2017 could have been averted, provided the mountain strike corps would have been raised, trained, resourced and efficaciously deployed". Terming it the greatest disservice to India's national security, he slammed the Modi govt for citing financial constraints for shelving defence plans.

His comments are in contrast to his peer Mani Shankar Aiyar's who has batted for lesser spending on Defence, suggesting India must invest in education instead. "Don't always be under the fear that someone will come and attack us. Like a rabbit which is confused which we to run when between headlights. We are caught between two headlights. We have become like rabbits in between China and Pakistan and joined forces with America," said Aiyar at a Delhi event.

26/11 Mumbai attack

Twelve years ago, on the night of November 26, 2008, 10 heavily armed terrorists from Pakistan entered Mumbai via sea route and went on a rampage. The 26/11 attack witnessed 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists going on a killing spree in the buzzing city during peak hours at landmark locations like - Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal, Palace and Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, the Nariman House Jewish Community centre. Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only terrorist to be captured alive, was hung four years later on November 21, 2012. The attack's mastermind and Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief -  Hafiz Saeed has been sentenced to 10 years in jail by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan and is lodged at Lahore's high-security Kot Lakhpat jail.