New Delhi [India], July 28 : Veteran Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member, P Chidambaram who has been accused of undermining national security on Monday said that multiple "trolls" are allegedly spreading misinformation and painting him "in a black colour" over his recent remaks on the Centre's handling of the Pahalgam terror attack, and the subsequent Operation Sindoor.
"Trolls are of different kinds and use different tools to spread misinformation. The worst kind is a troll who suppresses the full recorded interview, takes two sentences, mutes some words, and paints the speaker in a black colour!" the Congress leader posted on X.
Chidambaram's criticism came a day after an interview with the Quint news outlet was published online. He criticised the Centre for not giving a comprehensive statement on the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam and for not clarifying on the action the Goverment had taken in nabbing the perpetrators, saying that the party will also raise the issue during the special discussion on Operation Sindoor planned in Lok Sabha today.
"There are many questions asked in the interview The I.N.D.I.A. bloc will raise these and more questions in the debates in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha," Chidambaram added in another post.
In the interview with the news outlet uploaded on July 27 Chidambaram challenged the government's assertion that the Pahalgam attackers were from Pakistan. "Why do you assume that they came from Pakistan? There's no evidence of that" Chidambaram stated.
He suggested that the possibility of "homegrown terrorists" should not be dismissed without concrete proof. "Have they identified the terrorists where they came from? I mean, for all we know, they could be homegrown terrorists. Why do you assume that they came from Pakistan? There's no evidence of that," Chidambaram had asked.
"Where are the terrorist attackers? Why have you not apprehended them? Why have you not even identified them? Suddenly a news item emerges that we have arrested two or three people who gave them shelter. Now what happened to that?" Chidambaram asked.
Chidambaram also criticised the Prime Minister for not making a comprehensive statement on Operation Sindoor.
"We know it was an intelligence failure. But so was the Mumbai terror attack in 2008 an intelligence failure. When I took over as home minister I visited Mumbai and I called the entire press. The first sentence I said was I apologize for the intelligence failure. It was an intelligence failure, of seven or eight Pakistan-based terrorists coming by boat to Mumbai, the commercial capital of India and the financial capital of India and walking up to hotel Taj was a clear intelligence failure," Chidambaram said.
BJP has hit back at the Congress leader's remarks with party spokesperson Amit Malviya alleging that the Congress "always bend over backwards to protect the enemy."
BJP Leader Amit Malviya said in a post on X, "Why is it that every time our forces confront Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Congress leaders sound more like Islamabad's defence lawyers than India's opposition? When it comes to national security, there should be no ambiguity. But with the Congress, there never is -- they always bend over backwards to protect the enemy."
Congress leader and MP Manickam Tagore attacked the Centre today too, alleging that they are trying to "divert attention from real issues" and wanting to conceal the "failures of the government to continue with Operation Sindoor" after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
"We all know that the BJP always wants to divert from the real issue, and the real issue is of the Pahalgam terror attack and the failure of the government to continue with Operation Sindoor, the surrender of Mr Modi to Trump's Social Truth. We are very clear that this is a diversionary tactic by the BJP, and we will not fall into their trap," Tagore told ANI in Delhi.
The Congress leader also reiterated the party's stance of being against Pakistan's "export" of terrorism and supporting the armed forces against their fight with terrorist groups.