There was no response to 26/11: EAM’s swipe at Congress

In a veiled attack on the erstwhile UPA government, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Sunday said there was no response from India to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, asserting that it would not be the case if such an incident happened again.

Reflecting on the terror attack, Jaishankar said double standards on terrorism were unacceptable and India would “act where it has to act” to expose terrorism. Jaishankar fielded questions on issues ranging from terrorism to the India-China stand-off and from investment to politics at a press conference in Mumbai.

Without naming China, the EAM said the disengagement of troops at Depsang and Demchok in Ladakh was the first step and it was expected that India would return to the 2020 patrolling status.

He, however, stressed the next step of de-escalation won’t be taken until India is assured of reciprocity from the other side as well, obviously referring to China. Speaking on what changed after 2014, the EAM said was the leader in fighting terrorism.

“We should not have a repeat of what happened in Mumbai. That there was a terror attack and there was no response,” Jaishankar said. Mumbai is a symbol of counter-terrorism for India, he said. “There are different views from political parties. When this city (Mumbai) was attacked, nothing was done,” he added.