Sonia Gandhi opts for emotional 'Rajiv' pitch amidst attack on Sri Lankan Tamils issue

KANYAKUMARI: Dismissing as "false propaganda" that Congress was not concerned about Tamils in Sri Lanka, Sonia Gandhi today raised the emotional issue of her husband Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, saying the former prime minister sacrificed his life "fighting" for them.

Addressing her maiden election rally in Tamil Nadu, Gandhi also attacked the Jayalalithaa Government, virtually charging it with adopting a lethargic approach to the initiative taken by the UPA on fishermen level talks to end the recurring attacks on fishermen from the state.

"I am aware that some political parties accuse us that we have not done anything for Tamils in Sri Lanka. I want to ask them is there any party other than Congress which has done more for the Sri Lankan Tamils," she said.

Gandhi said her husband had "sacrificed his life fighting for the brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka. I want to ask which political party has done this."

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated at an election rally by an LTTE suicide bomber in Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991. Congress is contesting all 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state on its own. The UPA Chairperson insisted that her party had been striving for welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils and outlined Congress' commitment to "solve" their problems.

All political parties in the state including DMK, which had parted ways with UPA over the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils, have been accusing Congress of doing little on the emotive issue. Gandhi urged people not to believe in such "false propaganda".