26/11 Anniversary: PM Modi targets Sonia Gandhi, says terror attack occurred during Congress regime

As India observed the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing an election rally in poll-bound Rajasthan, alleged that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was busy in the game of winning elections across India during the 60-hour siege. 

"The soldiers have their lives in hand and not camera," Modi said, adding that when the 26/11 terror attack took place, New Delhi was being governed by 'madam' (Sonia Gandhi) through a remote control". "I remember the slightest criticism over the attacks used to rile up the then ruling party," he reiterated.

The prime minister also assured significant steps against the perpetrators of the 26/11 attack, expressing solidarity with families of victims who lost their lives in the bloodshed. "Justice will surely be done," he said.

Read | 26/11 Mumbai attack: 10 years on, India still lives in fear as terror continues unabated

Sometime in the dark hours of 23 November 2018, 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists sailed into Mumbai from Karachi and carried out coordinated attacks that lasted three days, leaving 166 people dead and over 600 people injured. The ten intruders in five groups of two each, headed for the iconic Taj Mahal hotel, two branches located at Nariman Point, Leopold Cafe on Colaba Causeway and another Jewish hotel located not far away.

Mumbai: Lights turned off at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station, Maharashtra Police Headquarters, and Mantralaya, on the 10th anniversary of 26/11. #MumbaiTerrorAttack pic.twitter.com/42qxuunpqa

— ANI (@ANI) November 26, 2018

Read | India must understand no terrorism sustains without the locals' support

Remembering those woeful moments in the history of India, PM Modi said, "India will never forget 26/11 (November 26, 2008) attack or its perpetrators. We are looking for an opportunity... the law will take its own course, I assure the people of the country."

The prime minister also added that a grateful nation bowed to its brave police and security forces who had valiantly fought the terrorists during the Mumbai attacks.

Earlier in the day, the Indian government asked Pakistan to act against this heinous terror attack on their soil as families of families of 166 victims from 15 countries still await justice.

Read | Mumbai Terror Attack: No room for complacency even after 10 years of 26/11

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also welcomed the United States’ statement calling on Pakistan to uphold their UN Security Council obligations “to implement sanctions against terrorists responsible for 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and its affiliates”.