Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Apr 10: As Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, landed in India after being extradited from the United States, the Congress party hit out at the Modi government, asserting that the development was not a sudden diplomatic triumph but the result of long-standing efforts initiated during the UPA era.
Senior Congress leader and former Home Minister P. Chidambaram welcomed Rana’s extradition but emphasized that credit for the diplomatic achievement should go to the groundwork laid more than a decade ago.
“While the Modi government is rushing to take credit, the truth lies in the years of persistent and strategic diplomacy carried out by the UPA government in coordination with U.S. authorities,” Chidambaram said.
He traced the origins of India’s efforts to 2009, when the UPA government first filed a case against Rana and his associate David Coleman Headley in Delhi, following their arrest by the FBI. While a U.S. court acquitted Rana of involvement in the 26/11 attacks, he was convicted in another terror plot, and India continued pushing for his extradition.
Chidambaram recalled that key breakthroughs came under the UPA, including intelligence cooperation from Canada, and a 2011 visit by an NIA team to the U.S. to interrogate Headley. With support under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), India secured crucial evidence that became part of the NIA's chargesheet.
“Interpol red notices, non-bailable warrants, and diplomatic outreach to U.S. officials were all initiated under the UPA,” he said, adding that External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Ambassador Nirupama Rao led several rounds of dialogue with the U.S. to push for extradition.
Even after the change in government in 2014, the momentum continued. In 2015, Headley agreed to testify as a witness, and by 2018, Indian officials were back in the U.S. to address legal hurdles in Rana’s case. His sentence in the U.S. was due to end in 2023, and in 2020, India immediately requested extradition after his temporary release on health grounds.
Chidambaram criticized the Modi government for claiming sole credit, noting that by May 2023, a U.S. court had approved the extradition, and all of Rana’s legal appeals—including one to the U.S. Supreme Court—were eventually dismissed.
“By February 2025, it was clear Rana had been linked to the 26/11 conspiracy since 2005. Finally, on April 8, the U.S. handed him over to Indian authorities, and he arrived in Delhi on April 10,” Chidambaram said.
He concluded by stating that the entire process was the outcome of sustained, serious diplomacy—not political posturing.
“The Modi government did not initiate this process nor did it secure any new breakthroughs. It merely built on the strong institutional framework created during the UPA years,” he said. “This is proof that with patient diplomacy, even the most elusive fugitives can be brought to justice.”