‘Tahawwur Rana's extradition result of UPA-era diplomacy, Modi govt only reaping credit’: Chidambaram

Congress leader and former home minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government did not initiate the extradition process of Tahawwur Rana but merely benefited from the “mature, consistent and strategic diplomacy” set in motion during the UPA era.

Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistan-born Canadian national and a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, is being extradited from the US after the Supreme Court there rejected his final plea to block the move.

Chidambaram said that the Modi government did not achieve any breakthrough to enable the extradition and that it was not the result of "chest-thumping" or "grandstanding." Instead, he said, the development was a testament to what the Indian state can achieve through sincere diplomacy, effective law enforcement, and international cooperation.

“While the Modi government is rushing to take credit for this development, the truth is far from their spin,” Chidambaram said in a statement, according to news agency ANI.

“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,” Chidambaram said.

“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,” he added.

Rana is a close associate of David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, a US citizen and one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks. On November 26, 2008, ten Pakistani terrorists carried out coordinated attacks at multiple locations in Mumbai, including a railway station, luxury hotels, and a Jewish centre. The nearly 60-hour assault claimed 166 lives.

‘Decade-and-a-half of painstaking diplomatic efforts’

Chidambaram on Thursday said that the extradition of Tahawwur Rana was the culmination of over 15 years of diplomatic, legal, and intelligence efforts launched and sustained by the UPA government in partnership with the US.

“This extradition is the culmination of a decade-and-a-half of painstaking diplomatic, legal and intelligence efforts which were initiated, led, and sustained by the UPA government in close coordination with the United States,” Chidambaram said.

He pointed out that the process began on November 11, 2009, when the NIA registered a case in Delhi against David Headley, Rana, and others linked to the 26/11 attacks.

“That very month, Canada's Foreign Minister confirmed collaboration with Indian agencies, thanks to UPA's effective foreign policy. The FBI had arrested Rana in Chicago in 2009 for supporting a failed LeT plot in Copenhagen,” said Chidambaram, who served as home minister from November 2008 to July 2012.

He recalled that although Rana was acquitted of direct involvement in the 26/11 attacks by a US court in 2011, he was convicted in other terror-related charges and sentenced to 14 years. Chidambaram said the UPA government expressed disappointment over the acquittal but continued to apply diplomatic pressure.

He added that despite setbacks, the UPA relied on “institutional diplomacy and legal mechanisms.” Under mutual legal assistance treaties, a three-member NIA team questioned Headley in the US in 2011.

Chidambaram highlighted how the US transferred crucial evidence to India, which the NIA included in its December 2011 chargesheet against nine accused, including Rana.

“The Special NIA court in Delhi issued non-bailable warrants, and Interpol Red Notices were secured for absconding accused. This was not a media stunt but quiet, determined legal diplomacy,” he added.

He recalled that in 2012, senior Indian officials, including then External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, raised the matter with US officials including Hillary Clinton and Wendy Sherman.

By January 2013, Headley was sentenced to 35 years, and Rana’s sentencing followed soon after. Chidambaram said India continued to demand Headley’s extradition and the then Indian Ambassador to the US, Nirupama Rao, consistently pursued the case.

Chidambaram said the case is “a textbook example of how sensitive issues of international justice should be handled through diplomacy.” He added that even after the change in government in 2014, ongoing institutional efforts kept the case alive.

He noted that Headley turned approver in 2015, which helped in the case against Abu Jundal. In 2016, a Mumbai court granted him pardon on condition of full cooperation.

A legal team was sent to the US in December 2018 and again in January 2019, when it was informed Rana had to complete his US sentence. Chidambaram said his release was scheduled for 2023, factoring in time served.

“These are not ‘strong leader’ moments, but are the slow wheels of justice, pushed forward by years of hard work. In June 2020, after Rana was released on health grounds, the Indian government requested his arrest,” he said.

Chidambaram added that the Biden administration supported the extradition, and in May 2023, a US court found him extraditable under the US-India treaty. Rana appealed, citing double jeopardy, but all his legal pleas were rejected, including by the US Supreme Court on January 21, 2025 — a day after Donald Trump’s inauguration.

“In February 2025, Prime Minister Modi and President Trump stood at a press conference and tried to take credit for what was essentially the result of years of UPA-era groundwork,” he said.

He said by February 17, Indian authorities had confirmed Rana’s role in the 26/11 plot dating back to 2005. On April 8, 2025, the US handed him over to Indian officials.

(With ANI inputs)