Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar has recently condemned the extradition from the United States to India of Tahawwur Rana, a principal accused in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Kumar has called the extradition a “ploy” by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to draw the public’s attention from the unfulfilled promises of the government. He went on to refute Amit Shah’s claim that the extradition itself was one of the major diplomatic successes of the Narendra Modi government.
The extradition of Rana, a Pakistani-born Canadian citizen and businessman, is a milestone in India’s efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 2008 attacks. Rana was previously convicted in the U.S. for providing support to the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was responsible for the attacks that killed 166 people.
The BJP holds that the extradition stands testimony to its commitment to national security, and Kumar’s comments keep alive the political While debates on the government’s performance still rage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to enjoy a very high approval rating; recent surveys show he has a 75% approval rating, the highest amongst world leaders.
In the heightening political rhetoric, the opposition has targeted the extradition of Tahawwur Rana as one of the major issues.