Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday slammed the Congress over the party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's response to the November 26, 2008, terror attacks in Mumbai. The controversy erupted over an excerpt from Tewari's latest book, titled '10 Flashpoints; 20 Years,’ published by Rupa Publications.
“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 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,” Tewari wrote in the book, which is scheduled to release on December 1.
Reacting to the Anandpur Sahib MP's opinion, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted: “After Salman Khurshid, another Congress leader throws the 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 the IAF was ready to strike but the UPA froze.”
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to the Anandpur Sahib MP's opinion, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya tweeted: “After Salman Khurshid, another Congress leader throws the 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 the IAF was ready to strike but the UPA froze.”
{{/usCountry}}“CONgress leader Manish Tewari exposes the failure of the UPA govt in its poor response after the 26/11 Mumbai Terror attack. While the IAF was ready to take revenge against Pakistan, Sonia Gandhi-led CONgress blocked it. CONgress was busy painting Hindus as Terrorists to save Pakistan,” CT Ravi, the JP Nadda-led party's national general secretary posted.
Meanwhile, newly-appointed BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, who was previously associated with the Congress, tweeted, “Rahul Gandhi and the Congress consistently echo the Pakistani line on every issue--Hindutva, 370 and Surgical strikes. Today, as we approach the 13th Anniversary of 26/11, the Congress must tell us what or who prevented a robust response post 26/11 like we saw post Uri and Pulwama.”
Tewari is the second Congressman, after Salman Khurshid, to have courted controversy over a book in recent days. Khurshid faced major outrage for equating Hindutva with terrorist groups such as the ISIS and Boko Haram.