BJP hails Rana extradition, claims Congress was 'soft' on terror during its rule for 'vote bank'

Mumbai attack accused Tahawwur Rana's extradition reflects “new India's” zero-tolerance resolve towards terrorism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP said on Thursday while accusing the Congress of being soft on terror for “vote-bank politics”.

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Rana, a key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, is likely to be brought to India in a special flight on Thursday after all hurdles for his extradition were removed by the US, according to people familiar with the matter.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Rana's extradition was a “big achievement” of the Modi government and its security agencies.

It is also a tribute to the security personnel who made the supreme sacrifice while fighting Pakistan-sponsored terrorists and a “big step” towards rendering justice to more than 160 people, including those from the US, Israel, France, Germany, Italy and other countries, killed in the attack, he said.

“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.

"Earlier, especially between 2004-14 (when the Congress-led UPA was at the helm), there was not a single month when there was no major terror attack in some major city of India," he said.

The erstwhile government remained a mute spectator to terror attack incidents and did not take "concrete steps" against such terrorists and the sponsors of terrorism in India, he charged without naming the Congress.

Poonwalla said such major terror attacks had "almost stopped" due to the Modi government's policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism.

"Earlier, there used to be a soft corner and soft approach towards terrorism in the name of vote bank," he said.