'Result of UPA government's strategic diplomacy', P chidambaram said on Tahawwur Rana's extradition, said- Modi government is taking credit.
Tahawwur Rana Extradition: P. chidambaram said that the Modi government neither initiated this process nor achieved any new success. It is only taking advantage of that institutional structure.
Former Union home minister and congress leader p. chidambaram, while giving a statement on the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, has said that I am happy that Tahawwur Hussain Rana, one of the main accused in the 26/11 mumbai terrorist attacks, was extradited to india on April 10, 2025, but it is important to tell the whole story. While the Modi government is competing to take credit for this development, the truth is far from their claims.
He said that this extradition is the result of a decade and a half of hard, diligent, and strategic diplomacy, which was initiated, led, and continued by the UPA government in coordination with the US. P chidambaram said that the first major action in this direction was taken on 11 November 2009, when the NIA registered a case against David Coleman Headley (US citizen), Tahawwur Rana (Canadian citizen), and others in New Delhi. In the same month, the Canadian Foreign minister confirmed intelligence cooperation with india, which was a direct result of the UPA government's efficient foreign policy.
The congress leader further said the FBI arrested Rana from Chicago in 2009, when he was helping Lashkar-e-Taiba in plotting a failed terrorist attack in Copenhagen. However, in june 2011, the US court acquitted him of direct involvement in the 26/11 attack but found him guilty of other terrorist conspiracies and sentenced him to 14 years. The UPA government publicly expressed disappointment over this decision and maintained diplomatic pressure.
Chidambaram further said that despite legal hurdles, the UPA government continued to make persistent efforts through institutional diplomacy and legal processes. Before the end of 2011, a three-member NIA team went to the US and questioned Headley. Under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), the US handed over crucial evidence of the investigation to india, which became part of the NIA chargesheet filed in december 2011. The NIA special court issued non-bailable warrants and also issued Interpol red notices against the absconding accused. All this was not for show, but part of serious and disciplined legal diplomacy.
Chidambaram said that in 2012, External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai strongly put forward the demand for the extradition of Rana and Headley to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Under Secretary Wendy Sherman. By january 2013, Headley and Rana had been sentenced. The UPA government expressed its displeasure at Headley's conviction and reiterated its demand for extradition. Nirupama Rao, India's then-ambassador to the US, repeatedly raised the issue with the US administration. This was a perfect example of handling sensitive matters related to international justice through careful diplomatic methods.
Chidambaram said that even after the change of government in 2014, the process that was going on remained alive due to the institutional initiatives started by the UPA government. In 2015, Headley offered to become a government witness. In 2016, a mumbai court granted him amnesty, strengthening the case against Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Judaal. In december 2018, the NIA team went to the US to resolve the legal hurdles related to extradition and in January 2019 it was told that Rana would have to complete his sentence in the US. Rana's release date was set for 2023, with the period of imprisonment already served added to it. This was not the quick action of a "strong leader" but a process of justice progressing over years of hard work.
He said that when Rana was released on health grounds in june 2020, the indian government immediately sought his extradition. The Biden administration supported India's request. In May 2023, a US court held India's request valid. Rana filed several petitions against this, including a petition in the US supreme court on the grounds of habeas corpus and double jeopardy. All these petitions were rejected. The final rejection came on January 21, 2025, the day after Donald Trump was sworn in.
Accusing the Modi government of taking credit for this, P chidambaram said that in february 2025, prime minister Modi and President trump stood in a press conference and tried to take credit for this whole matter, but the truth is that this achievement is the result of the foundation and continuous hard work of the UPA government for years. By February 17, indian officials confirmed that Rana was involved in the 26/11 conspiracy along with Lashkar and ISI since 2005. Finally, on April 8, 2025, US officials handed over Rana to indian agencies, and he reached New delhi on April 10.
In his statement, former home minister P Chidambaram further said that knows the facts clearly: the Modi government neither started this process nor achieved any new success. It is only taking advantage of the institutional structure, which was built by the UPA government with years of hard work, wisdom, and diplomatic foresight. This extradition is not a propaganda victory but proof that when the indian state acts with honesty, sincerity, and international cooperation, it can make a difference to the world. It can bring even the most complex criminals to justice.
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