Oppn questions Govt over US cooperation into Headley affair

New Delhi, Dec 17 (PTI) Seeking to corner the Indian
government, Opposition parties Thursday asked it to spell out
the kind of cooperation that the US had extended in probe
against David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Rana as they noted
that Indian investigators had not even been allowed access to
them.

Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party
(SP) and Left parties questioned in the Rajya Sabha (Upper
House of Indian Parliament) whether the US had passed on all
information related to Headley and Rana, Lashkar-e-Taiba
operatives held in Chicago in October and charged with
conspiracy in Mumbai attacks.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Leader of the
Opposition Arun Jaitely said the case was becoming more and
more curious by the day with reports suggesting that Headley,
a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative of Pakistani-origin, was a double
agent for the CIA.

Jaitley also referred to reports about "disappearance and
reappearance" of the documents Headley furnished to obtain
visa to travel to India.

Even though the FBI had records of Headley prior to 26/11,
his name cropped up as one of the masterminds of the Mumbai
terror attack only a year later, he said.

"We want to know the extent of cooperation extended by FBI
....It is reported that FBI had recordings prior to 26/11. Was
that information made available to us?... What the US agency
(FBI) is doing to us is doubtful," he said, asking the
government to inform the House about the extent of cooperation
extended by FBI.

Jaitley wanted to know on whose behalf Headley had been
acting and sought a statement from the government.

The BJP leader also asked the government to spell out what
progress the National Investigating Agency (NIA) had made in
the Headley case and why his name did not figure in the list
of suspects till FBI caught him recently.

Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh wanted to know why the
US did not share information on Headley previously and asked
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make a statement as to
whether the US was "cooperating or misleading."

In this regard, he noted that the US had not even allowed
Indian investigators to question Headley. "Our people have not
been able to meet Headley," he said.

Singh also referred to reports that Consul General in
Chicago used his discretion to grant visa to Headley.

Brinda Karat of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)
said FBI had full knowledge of the antecedents of Headley and
wanted to know the extent of cooperation by the US agency.

She made the demand particularly in light of Indian
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao's contention that the US agency
was extending full cooperation and the Home Ministry
expressing some concern.

"Is there any difference of perception within the
Government - between the External Affairs Ministry and the
Home Ministry," she asked, demanding that the Prime Minister
take the House into confidence on the issue.

The Prime Minister was present in the House at that time
but did not respond.

Chairman Hamid Ansari said the Government would respond at
an appropriate time. PTI ANZ
MYR