'Only court can decide on convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination'

President of the Congress Party in Tamil Nadu KS Alagiri said that if the court decides to release convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination, then we will accept, but if other political parties put pressure and then gain the release of the seven convicts, it will not be accepted.

Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Tamil Nadu Congress president KS Alagiri has said that only court can decide on the release of convicts in Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case.

"The release of the convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination should be decided only by the court. If they are released then there will demand for Tamil prisoners release who have served more than 25 years in prison," said Alagiri.

He further said that if other political parties put pressure and gain the convicts' release, it would be unacceptable. "If the court decides on the release then we will accept, but if other political parties put pressure and then gain the release of the seven convicts, it will not be accepted by us."

People who have committed murder should be identified as criminals and not by the identity of Tamil, Alagiri stated.

"It is not in Tamil tradition to support criminals especially those who are serving sentence in the assassination of the former prime minister of the country," he added.

The recommendation for the release of Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case convicts by the Tamil Nadu state's cabinet is currently pending for the Governor's assent since September 9, 2018.

Tamil Nadu political parties have demanded the release of the seven convicts on a "humanitarian basis", who are in prison for 29 years.

Earlier, the Supreme Court expressed unhappiness over the Tamil Nadu Governor for not making a decision for over two years on the remission plea of AG Perarivalan, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

Gandhi was assassinated by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during an election rally in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumpudur on the night of May 21, 1991.

ANI REPORT