The Congress will not be opposed to the release of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case if the courts decide to free them but use of political pressure to get them released was unacceptable to the party, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K.S. Alagiri said.
On Thursday, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind to accept the recommendation of the State government made in 2018 to remit the life sentences of the seven convicts and release them.
“We don’t have any feeling of revenge for these seven. If you give political pressure [for their release], then there is no need for courts. When the courts released 19 of the 26 convicts, we did not oppose it nor did we appeal against it. Even now we are saying, if the courts release them, we will not be opposed to that. But it is for the courts to take that decision,” Mr. Alagiri told The Hindu.
He said criminals should not be portrayed with any tinge of religion, caste or language.
“If you want to take pride about Tamils, there are so many great examples — K. Kamaraj, Kalaignar [M. Karunanidhi], Abdul Kalam, Tiruvalluvar. There are many more. You need not take the examples of these people [seven convicts],” he said.
Mr. Alagiri cautioned that any political pressure on securing the release of the seven convicts would lead to anarchy in the future.
There was a possibility of many such demands being made in the future. “The demand for their release is not acceptable in a humane society,” he added.
