NEW DELHI: Who should take the credit for the successful extradition of Mumbai terror attacks accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana? Prime Minister Modi-led NDA government or the Congress-led UPA government? Ironically, even before the special flight carrying Rana from US to India had landed – the BJP and the Congress engaged in a bitter tussle to claim credit.
BJP’s Shehzad Poonawalla claimed Rana’s extradition was a “big achievement” of the Modi government and its security agencies. “This extradition is not an ordinary extradition. This is a reflection of new India’s resolve which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had described in 2019, saying that if anyone dared to attack India’s unity, integrity, respect and its innocent people, the new India would bring such terrorists to justice,” Poonawalla said.
The BJP spokesperson said Rana was being brought back to make him face justice due to a “sea change” in the “attitude and mindset” of the government under Modi towards terrorism and terror attacks.
Union minister and BJP leader Piyush Goyal also joined the debate and said the Congress did not do anything to punish the terrorists and the extradition was possible because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “foremost and paramount commitment” to India’s national security and national interest.
However, the Congress was quick to counter BJP’s claim and asserted that the Modi government merely benefited from the consistent and strategic diplomacy that was begun under the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government (2004-2014).
“Let the facts be clear: the Modi government did not initiate this process, nor did it secure any new breakthrough. It merely benefited from the mature, consistent, and strategic diplomacy begun under the UPA. This extradition is not the result of any grandstanding, it is a testament to what the Indian state can achieve when diplomacy, law enforcement, and international cooperation are pursued sincerely and without any kind of chest-thumping,” senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said.
The Congress leader traced the origins of the extradition efforts back to 2009 when the UPA government, under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, took a significant step by registering a case against Rana and his co-conspirator, David Coleman Headley, in New Delhi.
Another Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar claimed that the extradition of Tahawwur Rana from the US was a ploy by the BJP to “divert” attention of the public from the “failure” of the central government to fulfill its promises.
“Since the BJP has no achievement worth the name, it tries to divert public issues under one pretext or the other,” Kanhaiya said.
‘Govt will hang Tahawwur Rana during Bihar polls’
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut gave an interesting twist to the debate as he claimed that the government will hang Tahawwur Hussain Rana during the Bihar elections due later this year.
“Rana should be immediately hanged but he will be hanged during the Bihar polls (scheduled later this year),” Raut told PTI. Raut said there was a 16-year-old battle to bring Rana to India and it started during the Congress rule. “So no one should take the credit of bringing back Rana,” Raut said.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also demanded that Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was captured in 2016 and was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged spying, be brought back home.
While the NIA and other investigative agencies work round the clock to ensure that Rana is punished for his acts, political parties will continue to fight for credit to maximise their electoral gains. Perhaps the credit for this success should be given to the agencies that have worked over the years to bring Rana to India.
