Congress leader Manish Tewari on Tuesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the latter, citing excerpts from his new book accused the Congress led UPA government of putting India’s national security at stake by not responding strongly after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
In a tweet, Tewari said that he is “rather amused” at BJP’s reaction to one excerpt from a 304 Page book that attempts to dissect responses to National Security Situations that Impacted India.
“I wonder would they react similarly to some hard analysis about their handling of the National Security Remit also,” he asked.
Tewari in his latest book ‘10 Flashpoints: 20 years’ criticised the UPA government for its response to the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, saying restraint is not a sign of strength and that India should have taken kinetic action after the attack.
Tewari's tweet came after the excerpts drew mocking retorts from leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said this confirms that the UPA government was "useless". Bhatia said Tewari's book confirms that the "Congress-led UPA government was insensitive, useless and was even not concerned about national security". The UPA government had put the national security at stake, he alleged.
Reacting to Manish Tewari's book, 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.”
The Congress leadership will now have to deal with a second book in a month, which could stir another controversy. Earlier, Salman Khurshid's book created a controversy where he compared Hindutva with IS and Boko Haram.
With Inputs from Agencies
