Centre examining TN govt letter on remittance of Rajiv killers

Government today said it is examining the Tamil Nadu government's decision to remit the sentence of seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case but made it clear that abiding by Supreme Court's order on the issue is its Constitutional responsibility.

"We have received a letter from the Tamil Nadu government yesterday and we are examining it. But I want to state about the accused that Supreme Court has given a verdict and to abide by its order is our constitutional responsibility, not only constitutional but also moral responsibility," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in Lok Sabha during Zero Hour.

Singh's statement came a day after Tamil Nadu government said it has decided to remit the sentence of life imprisonment of all the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and release them and sought the Centre's views on the move.

In a letter to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi today, Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary K Gnanadesikan said the state government has received petitions from the seven convicts requesting it to release them as they had spent more than 20 years in prison.

The convicts are V Sriharan alias Murugan, T Suthendraraja alias Santhan, A G Perarivalan alias Arivu, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, Ravichandran and Nalini.

All the seven were convicted by a special TADA court for their role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991 during an election rally at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court had on December 2, 2015 said Centre will decide whether Rajiv Gandhi's killers will be released or not holding that states cannot exercise "suo motu" the power to grant remission without any specific plea from convicts.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters that Congress would oppose the state government's decision.

"We don't agree with the Tamil Nadu government. The Supreme Court has already rejected this plea of several organisations and there is no question of supporting such a move.

"As a party, we will definitely oppose this move of the Tamil Nadu government," he said.