Strict punishement for those involved in terror acts: Congress’ Rajiv Shukla on Tahawwur Rana’s extradition
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 9 (ANI): As the US Supreme Court rejected terror accused Tahawwur Rana’s plea seeking extradition stay, Congress MP Rajiv Shukla on Wednesday said that those involved in acts of terror must be strictly punished.
With the American courts rejecting his application, he said, Rana should be brought to India to face punishments for his crimes.
“It’s good. Those involved in acts of terror should be strictly punished. Even the American courts did not entertain his stay plea. He will have to come to India and be punished for his crimes,” Shukla told ANI.
Meanwhile, Congress leader TS Singh Deo said, “This should have happened long ago. But it is good that it’s happening.”
Congress leader Nana Patole on Wednesday raised apprehensions over the extradition of terror accused Tahawwur Rana to India while accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of not being “trustworthy”. He said that they couldn’t believe anything till the time the 2008 Mumbai terror accused was brought into the country.
“If he comes, it is good. Strict action should be taken against such people. They had said a lot of things. They talked about bringing back Dawood (Ibrahim). What happened? Until he is brought here, how can we believe anything? Because Modi is not a trustworthy Prime Minister,” Patole told ANI.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Congress MP Manish Tewari lauded the US Supreme Court’s rejection of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana’s application seeking a stay on his extradition to India.
“If Tahawwur Rana, who was involved in the massacre of innocent people during the 26/11 outrage, is being extradited to India to stand trial for his crimes, it is a welcome step,” Tewari told ANI.
Rana has been accused of being involved in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, where innocent people were killed, and is expected to stand trial in India.
On April 7, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected Tahawwur Rana’s plea to stay his extradition to India. Rana filed an emergency application with Chief Justice Roberts on March 20, 2025, seeking a stay on his extradition.
“The application for stay addressed to The Chief Justice and referred to the Court is denied,” the SC order dated Monday, April 7, 2025, stated.
Earlier, US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan had denied a similar plea in March. His request was circulated among the Supreme Court justices for a conference held on April 4, as per the court’s official website.
In his earlier application, Rana argued that he would not survive long enough to be tried in India due to various reasons.
Rana highlighted his deteriorating health. He suffers from a 3.5 cm abdominal aortic aneurysm at immediate risk of rupture, Parkinson’s disease with cognitive decline, and a mass suggestive of bladder cancer. He asserts that he cannot be sent into a “hornet’s nest” where he will be targeted due to national, religious, and cultural animosity.
