BJP accuses Congress govt of ‘soft approach’ to terrorism amid Rana extradition
Congress lawmaker P Chidambaram hit back saying the extradition process of Rana was “initiated by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the coursework of which began in 2009
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday accused the Congress-led government of having a “soft approach” to terrorism in “fear of possible impact on the vote bank,” amid the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, from the United States.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, addressing a conference at the party headquarters in Delhi, said that instead of “unmasking” Pakistan on international fora for terror attacks, the onus of those attacks was put on the Indian agencies and citizens between 2004 and 2014.
Former union home minister P Chidambaram hit back saying the extradition process of Rana was “initiated by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the coursework of which began in 2009, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registering a case against the Pakistan-born citizen, along with Headley and others.”
“These are not ‘strong leader’ moments, but are the slow wheels of justice, pushed forward by years of hard work,” Chidambaram said in a statement issued on Thursday.
Rana, the 64-year-old Canadian physician allegedly helped co-conspirator David Coleman Headley in reconnaissance of targets in Mumbai and allegedly planned attacks at National Defence College (NDC) and Chabad Houses. 166 people were killed in the Mumbai attacks, the deadliest terror attack on India by Pakistan-backed terrorists. He lost his plea in the US Supreme Court against his extradition.
Also read: Meet the two senior NIA officers bringing back 26/11 accused Tahawwur Rana
Accusing the Opposition of having a soft approach to terrorism and of creating a “fake narrative” against the RSS and the Sangh, Poonawalla demanded an apology.
“The decisive action that should have been taken, the Indian defence and security forces were stopped from taking that. This was stated by (former air force chief) Fali Major and the same has been confirmed in (former US President) Barack Obama’s and senior Congress MP’s books,” Poonawalla said.
Poonawalla said the 2009 Sharm el-Sheikh pact, signed between former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his then Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani, was “responsible for spreading terrorism.”
“On one hand, the Modi government works to unmask the terror-sponsoring nations. On the other hand, the previous government signed declarations to strengthen other nations’ stance against India,” he added.
Also read: NIA visits, assurances to US and ‘childhood friend’ Headley: How India secured Rana’s extradition
Chidambaram in his statement, however, argued that the Modi government “did not secure any breakthrough” but “benefited” from the consistent diplomacy on the matter initiated under the UPA government.
“In 2012, external affairs minister Salman Khurshid and foreign secretary Ranjan Mathai took up the matter of Headley’s and Rana’s extradition with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and under secretary Wendy Sherman,” the senior Congress leader said in a statement, adding that it was the ongoing institutional efforts that kept the case alive despite a change in the government in 2014.
“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,” Chidambaram said.
