Fadnavis says Operation Sindoor showed ‘new India’; questions why 26/11 didn’t get similar response

Maharashtra CM says Mumbai terror strike challenged India’s sovereignty and argues a tougher response then would have changed deterrence.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said that if India had taken an “Operation Sindoor-like” action after the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack, “no one would have dared to target the country again.”

He was speaking at a programme at the Gateway of India ahead of the 17th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks.

‘Attack on Mumbai was attack on India’s sovereignty’

Fadnavis said the 26/11 assault was not limited to the Taj and Trident hotels. He described Mumbai as India’s economic capital and said the attack on the city amounted to an attack on the country’s sovereignty.

#WATCH | Mumbai: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis says, "The 9/11 attack was carried out on the Twin Towers to tell that America's might was in the Twin Towers. Therefore, by attacking the Twin Towers, America's sovereignty was challenged. Similarly, the Taj and Trident weren't… pic.twitter.com/6pxP5CX3xv

— ANI (@ANI) November 22, 2025

Drawing a comparison with the 9/11 attacks in the US, he said the targets in Mumbai were chosen to signal a direct challenge to India.

Links 26/11 to post-Pahalgam response

Fadnavis said India did not respond to the 26/11 challenge with the kind of force it later showed in Operation Sindoor.

He referred to the period after Pahalgam, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stated that terror and talks cannot coexist and gave the armed forces a free hand. Fadnavis said the Indian Army entered Pakistan and eliminated targets, and Pakistan “was unable to do anything.” He added that Operation Sindoor demonstrated India’s strength and that the world now recognises India as a transformed nation.

‘Pakistan shifted to proxy war’

Fadnavis said Pakistan now understands it cannot defeat India in a direct fight and therefore seeks to wage a proxy war. He referred to an explosion in Delhi as an attempt by Pakistan to reassert its presence, adding that Indian agencies had acted after sensing threats to multiple cities including Mumbai.