Congress credit UPA for Tahawwur Rana's extradition: Reality check

It’s been over a decade since the Congress-led UPA government was ousted by the Indian voters in the 2014 general elections owing to the previous administration’s inefficiency, high level of corruption and inability to ensure security of the nation. Yet, Congress Party is still trying tooth and nail to somehow present its 10 year tenure between 2004 to 2014 as a golden decade. The latest episode? The extradition of Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Despite the extradition being finalised under the current NDA government, thanks to the sustained diplomatic pressure and legal efforts spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team, Congress leaders are now scrambling to take credit for the move.

Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram recently claimed that the extradition of Tahawwur Rana was the “culmination of groundwork laid by the UPA in 2009.” This claim is not only opportunistic but also blatantly misleading. Let’s be clear, while the initial request for extradition was indeed made in 2011 under the UPA regime, it was the BJP government that ensured consistent legal follow-ups, high-level diplomatic negotiations, and ultimately closed the loop on a case that had stagnated for years. From the 2018 NIA delegation to the US, to relentless efforts through multiple US courts, and finally the diplomatic push involving PM Modi and US President Donald Trump every key step from 2014 onwards bears the clear signature of the NDA’s proactive foreign policy.

Contrast this with the abysmal handling of terrorism during the Congress years. The 26/11 attacks themselves unfolded under the UPA’s watch. Ten Pakistani terrorists stormed India’s financial capital in a highly coordinated operation, leaving 166 dead and over 300 injured. The entire nation watched in horror as commandos fought for days to neutralize the attackers. And yet, even after this grave act of war, the Congress government chose appeasement over accountability. There was no firm retaliation. No diplomatic shockwave. No retribution.

What the UPA offered instead was restraint disguised as “strategic patience”. But history judges action, not excuses. And in this case, inaction emboldened our enemies. Let us not forget the UPA’s infamous “goodwill gesture” in 2010, when 25 jailed terrorists including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) handler Shahid Latif were freed. Latif, strikingly, was later identified as the chief handler of the 2016 Pathankot Air Base attackers. His release was a direct consequence of the Congress government’s naive hope that such moves would melt the heart of Pakistan. Instead, it only strengthened terror networks.

In fact, many of the UPA’s policies not only weakened India’s internal security architecture but also demoralized the forces fighting on the front lines. Take for instance the Congress’s decision to repeal laws like POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) under the garb of “human rights.” The result? Counter-terror agencies were left toothless just when terrorism was evolving into its most sophisticated and decentralized form.

BJP leader Arun Jaitley rightly observed in 2019 that the Congress and its “secular” allies have consistently weakened the battle against extremism and terrorism either through reckless legal dilutions or through direct political interference in anti-terror operations. A telling example of this interference was Salman Khurshid’s bizarre ‘admission’ that Sonia Gandhi “wept” after the Batla House encounter, a lawful operation where a Delhi Police inspector lost his life. What was meant to be a tribute to her empathy instead revealed the twisted priorities of the Congress leadership – shedding tears for terrorists, silence for the martyr.

Moreover, the Congress’s own flip-flop on homegrown radical outfits like the Popular Front of India (PFI) has been troubling. In 2013, the Karnataka Congress government dropped criminal charges against several SDPI and PFI members despite warnings from intelligence agencies. By 2022, these very groups were declared unlawful under UAPA for terror links and anti-national activities by the Modi government. Had Congress acted in 2013, the radicalisation could have been curbed early on. But as always, vote bank prevailed over national security.

Even after 26/11, terrorists like Sajid Mir one of the masterminds entered India under the pretext of a fan watching cricket matches. These lapses weren’t just intelligence failures, they were failures of political will. The very ecosystem that failed to hold Pakistan accountable is now trying to bask in the glory of an extradition it had no real role in securing.

Now, as Tahawwur Rana stands trial in India, the Congress is desperate to rewrite history but the facts speak louder than rhetoric. In fact, keeping aside the past, even now, its leaders like Prithiviraj Chavan are seeking “fair trial” for the Pakistani-Canadian terrorist, casting aspersions on the Indian judiciary suggesting that India could be running a kangaroo court to send him to gallows like Pakistan does.

Under PM Modi’s leadership, India has not only extradited a long-wanted terrorist but has also redefined how India deals with its enemies. Whether it was the surgical strikes after Uri or the Balakot airstrikes post-Pulwama, the message is loud and clear: this is not 2008’s India. Meanwhile, there have been allegations on the Modi government by the Western press that it is carrying out “extra-judicial killings on foreign soil” to neutralise anti-India elements and terrorists who carried out attacks on India, however, the Modi government has categorically denied these baseless allegations. 

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And perhaps this is what irks the Congress most  that India has moved on from the age of excuses to an era of execution. Congress leaders, used to indulge in soft diplomacy and reactive policy, find themselves out of depth in a new India that demands accountability, not appeasement. No amount of press statements or political spin can erase the truth. The extradition of Tahawwur Rana was not a gift handed down from the past, but the result of consistent, bold, and assertive leadership of the Modi Government at the centre.