Congress claims credit for Tahawwur Rana extradition: 'UPA-era groundwork'

Former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has credited the extradition of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India as the result of a “decade-and-a-half of painstaking diplomatic, legal and intelligence efforts” initiated and led by the UPA government in close coordination with the United States.

In a detailed press statement issued on Thursday, Chidambaram accused the current BJP-led NDA government of attempting to take undue credit for what he described as a culmination of institutional diplomacy, legal groundwork, and international cooperation set in motion in 2009. “This extradition is not the result of any grandstanding,” he said, calling it “a testament to what the Indian state can achieve when diplomacy, law enforcement, and international cooperation are pursued sincerely and without chest-thumping.”

Rana, a Canadian citizen, was extradited to India on Thursday, after a prolonged legal battle in the US. The process began in November 2009, when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against Rana, David Coleman Headley, and others in connection with the 26/11 conspiracy. That same year, the FBI had arrested Rana in Chicago for aiding a failed LeT plot in Copenhagen. Though acquitted of direct involvement in the Mumbai attacks, he was convicted on other terror-related charges and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Chidambaram highlighted the institutional approach followed by the UPA through diplomatic channels and legal mechanisms. Evidence provided by US authorities under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) led to the filing of the NIA chargesheet in 2011. Non-bailable warrants and Interpol Red Notices followed.


In 2012, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai raised Rana’s and Headley’s extradition with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other American officials. Though India’s extradition request for Headley was denied in 2013 after his sentencing to 35 years, the UPA government remained diplomatically engaged, Chidambaram said in his statement.

Following a change of government in 2014, Chidambaram said it was the ongoing institutional momentum that kept the case alive. "In 2015, Headley agreed to turn approver in the 26/11 case. In 2016, a Mumbai court pardoned him on the condition of full cooperation, which helped the case against Zabiuddin Ansari (Abu Jundal). A team visited the US in December 2018 to resolve legal hurdles and again in January 2019 was told that Rana must serve his full sentence in the US. His release date was set for 2023, accounting for time served. These are not "strong leader" moments, but are the slow wheels of justice, pushed forward by years of hard work," he said in his statement.

Rana’s release from US prison in 2020 on health grounds reignited India’s extradition request. The Biden administration supported the move, and in 2023, a US court certified his extraditability. After exhausting all legal appeals, including a writ to the US Supreme Court, Rana’s final plea was rejected on January 21, 2025. US authorities handed Rana over to Indian officials on April 8. He arrived in New Delhi on April 10, the statement read.

In February 2025, PM Modi and President Trump publicly acknowledged Rana’s role in the 26/11 plot. However, Chidambaram maintained that the BJP-led government “did not initiate this process, nor did it secure any new breakthrough,” but merely inherited the fruits of UPA’s sustained diplomacy.

"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," he said.

The statement further stated, "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."