Subramanian Swamy opposes Stalin's plea for release of Rajiv Gandhi assassination convicts

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday opposing Tamil Nu CM MK Stalin's plea seeking release of  Rajiv Gandhi assassination convicts. In his letter, Swamy questioned wher Stalin was of opinion that  life of a former PM was only worth a certain number of years of imprisonment undergone by convicts. Citing various judgments of Supreme Court, he stressed that a life sentence implies imprisonment for life and cannot be remitted for this "anti-national assassination".

He recalled that late PM h sent Indian Peace Keeping Force to Sri Lanka to save Tamils of neighbouring country from "genocide".  Swamy ded, "Post this (India-Sri Lanka) treaty, internationally notified terrorist, i.e, LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran (who claimed to be a Marxist), thus h to face democratically elected Tamil leers of repute, and suffer isolation and irrelevance, thus determined and conspired for Shri Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, after elections held in Tamil areas of Jaffna and Batticaloa in north east, elected a Tamil Chief Minister (Sri Vardarajan Perumal). LTTE just became a renege in eyes of world and Tamils everywhere in particular". 

ex-Union Minister also drew attention to report of Justice Varma Commission which examined security aspects of arrangements for Gandhi's public meeting in Sriperumbudur. Lamenting that successive governments have ignored recommendations of this panel, he claimed that it held key to decide wher a particular political party "deliberately" sabotaged full security arrangements me by state government. Moreover, Swamy expressed shock at Congress president Sonia Gandhi for seeking clemency for conspirators of her husband's assassination. 

Here is Swamy's letter to President Kovind: 

Stalin appeals to President

On May 21, 1991, former PM Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by an LTTE suicide bomber when he was towards dais for dressing an election rally for Lok Sabha polls. Convicted in case, A G Perarivalan, Nalini, her husband Murugan, T. Sundraraja, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, and P Ravichandran are serving a life term. Highlighting that y have been undergoing "agony" of imprisonment for over three deces, MK Stalin ded that erstwhile TN government h recommended to Governor for remission of ir life sentence on September 9, 2018.

However, he pointed out that Governor decided that President is competent authority to decide on remission of se 7 persons. Referring to SC's recent verdict on decongesting prisons amid COVID-19 pandemic, he stated that re h alrey been an inordinate delay in consideration of ir remission pleas. refore, he requested President Kovind to accept 2018 recommendation of TN government and direct immediate release of convicts.