New Delhi, Apr 11 (PTI) Former law minister Ashwani Kumar on Friday described the extradition of Mumbai terror attacks accused Tahawwur Rana as a defining moment in the nation’s fight against terrorism, saying the matter should not be politicised to apportion blame or to claim exclusive credit for the move.

“The nation expects political parties to rise above partisan politics and demonstrate maturity of our democratic process. The extradition of Tahawwur Rana is a defining moment in the nation’s fight against terrorism.

“It is a vindication of the nation’s collective resolve to bring to justice all those waging an undeclared war against India,” Kumar, who served as the law minister in the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government from 2012-2013, said in a statement.

Kumar also said that despite the complex legal and diplomatic formalities involved in extradition cases, the concerned authorities in India successfully navigated these challenges to vindicate justice and “to pay our debt to the martyrs and victims of the heinous terrorist attacks in Mumbai in 2008”.

“Considering that the UPA government initiated the entire process of extradition of Rana by chargsheeting him in 2011, it is wrong to suggest that the earlier government was remiss in pursuing Rana.

“It is only right that the matter is not politicised to apportion blame or to claim exclusive credit for the successful extradition of Rana. The nation expects political parties to rise above partisan politics, at least where terrorism is concerned, and demonstrate the maturity of our democratic politics,” he said.

Rana was brought to the NIA headquarters here early Friday morning after a special NIA court granted his 18-day custody to the anti-terror probe agency following his extradition from the US.

He is presently lodged in a highly-secured cell inside the NIA headquarters in the CGO complex, which is being guarded by security personnel round the clock, sources said. PTI SKC ARI ARI