"Tahawwur Rana Trial Can Be Completed In 6 Months": P Chidambaram

The extradition of 26/11 plotter Tahawwur Rana from the US has sparked a political row, with the Congress claiming that the process started during the UPA rule in 2009 and so the NDA government should not claim all the credit. 

"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," former Union minister P Chidambaram said in a statement earlier today.  

"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," the statement had added, outlining the steps the government had taken since 2009 to bring Rana and the prime accused, David Coleman Headley, to book. Click Here For Tahawwur Rana Extradition Live Updates

Asked about the matter this evening, Mr Chidambaram stood by his statement. "They (the NDA government) can take credit for what they have done now. But they should also give credit to the previous government which has done a lot. The government of India is a continuity," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview. 

The counter-terror apparatus back then was very weak, Mr Chidambaram told NDTV, explaining what has changed between then and now. 

"We did not have an NIA, we did not have an NIA Act, there were weaknesses in the UAPA, and there were weaknesses in the intelligence set-up. So in the three years I was the Home Minister, I did my best to plug the apparatus and strengthen the weaknesses," he said. "I do not deny that the present government has built on that and further strengthened the apparatus," he added. 

Pointing out that the "terrorist is always half-a-step ahead of the administration," he said it depends on the administration must review the apparatus periodically.

Rana, 64, was extradited from the US yesterday. He landed in Dehi this evening and India's most wanted for his role in the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, has landed in Delhi. He was extradited from the US on a special flight on Wednesday and will now face the law.

In its statement today, the National Investigation agency mentioned that the extradition of Rana took place after "years of sustained and concerted efforts to bring the key conspirator behind the 2008 mayhem to justice".

Tahawwur Rana was extradited from the US on a special flight on Wednesday, landed in Delhi this evening. He has been formally arrested by the NIA and produced in court.

Mr Chidambaram -- a senior lawyer -- said with a "dedicated public prosecutor and a conscientious judge'' the trial should not take more than six months, since India already has all the evidence  against him.