When Sam Pitroda Felt Not Responding To 26/11 Attack Was Right Approach

Sam Pitroda aka Satyanarayan Pitroda was not just a cabinet minister in Manmohan Singh's government but he also served as the advisor to the then Prime Minister. While he triggered a political row on Wednesday by putting in the spotlight the inheritance tax which was scrapped decades ago in India in 1985, this is not the first time when Pitroda has dragged the Congress party in the dock, and during the elections.

In 2019, Pitroda sought evidence questioning the veracity of the Balakot airstrike by the Indian Air Force in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack in 2019. He found blaming the entire nation of Pakistan for what was done by a few, an absurd act. Rather, he pitched for a dialogue between the two nations.

Recalling how the Manmohan Singh government tackled the 26/11 attack on Mumbai in 2008, he said, "I don’t know much about attacks. It happens all the time. Attack happened in Mumbai, also. We could have then reacted and just sent our planes, but that is not the right approach. According to me, that’s not how you deal with the world."

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If one delves into his thought process, one would find these aspects:

1. "It happens all the time", said Pitroda is enough to elaborate on how serious he was towards peacemaking and sovereignty of India. Some militants infiltrating into the Indian territory seems a casual act to him.
2. Advocating for the dialogue between India and Pakistan in 2019, he cited what the Congress government did in the Mumbai attack which went on for four days starting from November 26, 2008.
3. He finds not reacting and sending the planes in the aftermath of the 26/11 attack was a wise decision and a right approach.

The very same Pitroda wanted proof of the IAF's operation in the adjacent territories of Pakistan.