Mysuru:  After the night of Nov. 26 in 2008 when Pakistan terrorists carried out bomb blasts and opened indiscriminate fire at innocent people at Taj Hotel and other areas in Mumbai, India should have struck harder, said Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha.

“We are still nursing old wounds. We went soft on terrorists and we let the survivors suffer. The then Union Government did not act on terror. Had our forces attacked Pakistan after the Mumbai attack, India would have been in a much better position now, the MP said at the Vijayotsava held at Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple here last evening.

The event was organised by Yuva Brigade and pro-Hindu organisations to mark India’s pre-dawn air strikes on Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camps at Balakot and other locations. A bike rally too was held on the occasion where pro-India slogans were raised.  “For 70 years, Pakistan has been sponsoring various terror groups with a single-minded agenda to destroy peace in India. So far we have been soft on Pakistan, but not anymore,” the MP said.

“The Indian Air Force (IAF)was ready to take revenge for 2008 Mumbai terror attacks but the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government ‘blocked’ any further action on the surgical strike option that was meant to teach terror-sponsor Pakistan a lesson,” he alleged.

“IAF had the plan as well as capability to hit the terror-training camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in 2008, but the then UPA government never gave the necessary nod,” he added.

Expressing concerns over the heightened tension between India and Pakistan, Pratap Simha said that Pakistan is now bound to take “urgent and meaningful action” against terrorist groups in its territory, including JeM which has claimed responsibility for Pulwama attack. “Pakistan must do everything possible to implement its own proscription of JeM. It can no longer allow extremist groups the legal and physical space to operate from its territory,” he said.

The MP lauded the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Defence Forces for the daring attack that has taught Pakistan a lesson not to meddle with India. “Pakistan will now think hundred times before launching a terror attack on India. Today, all Indians are proud of our PM and the Air Force,” he added.

At another event held at Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple to mark the Indian air strikes, crackers were burst by pro-Hindu organisations and cheered the Indian government and Defence Forces for giving a befitting reply to Pak.