Let law take its course on Rajiv's killers: Rahul

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said it is for the courts to decide on the release of seven convicts in the case relating to the assassination of his father Rajiv Gandhi, saying neither he nor his family members harboured “animosity or hatred” towards them.

“It (Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination) has two aspects. While one was personal which we have dealt with, the other was the legal course, which has to take its (own) course. Whatever course the legal issue takes, we are happy with it,” Rahul said, addressing a press conference here.

“We are quite forgiving people, we do not have animosity or hatred towards anybody, and it is for the courts to decide (on their release),” he said. The Congress President was responding to a question on the release of seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, which is currently pending before the Tamil Nadu Governor.

The Tamil Nadu Cabinet had in September passed a resolution demanding the release of seven convicts, including Nalini, Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and sent the file to Governor Banwarilal Purohit. The file relating to their release is pending before the Governor and the issue of the release of the seven convicts is a highly emotive issue in Tamil Nadu – there have been continuous protests demanding their release from prison.

All the seven have been in jail since 1991 and numerous petitions by them seeking pre-mature release so far have been rejected. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991, by an LTTE suicide bomber in Sriperumbudur, 50 km from here, during a Congress rally. The death sentence of Nalini was commuted to life imprisonment on the request of Congress leader and late Rajiv Gandhi’s widow Sonia Gandhi.