Congress on Friday said it was “most unfortunate” that the Supreme Court “did not act in consonance” with the “spirit of the country” when it ordered the release of six convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.
While it described the judgment as “totally unacceptable and completely erroneous", the party also made it clear that it never agreed with former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s views and actions on the matter, including intervening to commute the death sentence of one of the convicts, Nalini Sriharan who was in jail for assassinating the former Prime Minister.
Congress' reaction came as the Supreme Court directed the premature release of six convicts, including Nalini and R P Ravichandran, serving life sentences in the case. Earlier in May, the Supreme Court had ordered the release of another convict Perarivalan.
Soon after the judgment, the party issued a strongly-worded statement by Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh followed by a press conference by Rajya Sabha MP and senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
Ramesh said in the statement that the apex court's decision to “free the remaining killers” of Rajiv was "totally unacceptable and completely erroneous". He added, “the Congress Party criticises it clearly and finds it wholly untenable. It is most unfortunate that the Supreme Court has not acted in consonance with the spirit of India on this issue."
Singhvi said the message we were sending to the world was about the benefits of India’s judicial magnitude and largesse we extend to the killers, forgetting the nature of the crime. He said the party has no confusion in its stand that the killers of a former Prime Minister should not be released and it sends the wrong signal.
The assassination of a former Prime Minister stands on a totally different footing. Irrespective of political colour such a person is reflective of the insignia of the sovereignty of the country. In that sense, a fatal attack on any Prime Minister, former or sitting, is an attack on the very sovereignty and integrity of India and cannot be dealt with on normal administrative considerations,” he said.
When asked about Sonia’s views on the convicts, he said she is certainly entitled to her “personal views but with the greatest respect, the party does not agree with that view". "The party has never agreed with that view…Because the most important aspect is that the sovereignty, integrity and identity of the nation is involved in the assassination of a former Prime Minister."
Asked about the DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu supporting the release of the convicts, Singhvi said, “Who was our former party president? Sonia Gandhi. If I am able to disagree with her from this podium, am I going to agree with the ally government in Tamil Nadu? Their stand and our stand are different.”
He said the party will explore legal options to challenge the Supreme Court verdict.
However, Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram took a little divergent view but said "assassins" should not be celebrated. "If the law permits release, so be it, but it must apply to convicts in other cases, too. Under no circumstances should the assassins be celebrated," he tweeted.
Responding to the Supreme Court verdict, Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra tweeted, "You can kill a former Prime Minister of India in the most heinous manner and still can walk free out of prison. This can happen only in India. There were many innocent citizens also who were also killed in that blast."
BJP Tamil Nadu Secretary SG Suryah tweeted blaming the Congress, "Kill a former Prime Minister and walk away free. Shame on Congress for not standing up to their own Rajiv Gandhi!"