Politics heats up over release of Rajiv Gandhi assassins

Zee Media Bureau/Himanshu Kapoor

New Delhi: The seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, lodged in prisons across Tamil Nadu, are in a celebratory mood after learning about the state government`s decision to reportedly release them within three days. The seven include the three, Perarivalan, Murugan and Santhan, whose death sentence was commuted to life by the Supreme Court yesterday. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa announced in the Assembly her government`s decision to set free all the seven convicts – V Sriharan alias Murugan, AG Perarivalan alias Arivu, T Suthendraraja alias Santhan, Nalini, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and Ravichandran. And DMK supremo Karunanidhi lauded the decision by Jayalalithaa, his arch rival, to release the convicts, while Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi expressed sadness over it and questioned that if a prime minister, who sacrificed his life for the nation, does not get justice how will a common man get justice. But Rahul, who was 21 when Rajiv was killed by a suicide bomber at an election rally in Sriperumbedur, near Chennai, on May 21, 1991, at the same time said he was not in favour of death penalty. As the Tamil Nadu government is adamant to release the assassins and has said that if the government didn`t response within three days they will go ahead with its decision, the Congress party leaders are opposing the decision. "Those who assassinated Rajiv Gandhi should not be given any relief; that is the position of the Attorney General. Now the court has rendered a decision. We must naturally abide by it. We may or may not agree with it but we must abide by it," Law Minister Kapil Sibal said. Sibal also took a jibe at the BJP for not uttering a word on the issue. Sibal said he`s surprised that the Opposition party was baying for the blood of Afzal Guru but is silent when it comes to the assassins of Rajiv. Seeing this as a move by the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu to gain the political divided from the sensitive issue in the upcoming General Elections, the Centre might, according to the reports in media, reject the unilateral moves by the state government on the matter. Former prime minister Gandhi was killed in May 1991. The conspirators were convicted by a TADA court in January 1998 and were awarded death sentence, which was confirmed by the apex court May 11, 1999. (With PTI inputs)