Tamil Nadu decision to free Rajiv Gandhi killers matter of concern: BJP

NEW DELHI: Without criticising Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, BJP today said the compassion shown towards killers of Rajiv Gandhi and the decision on their early release was a matter of concern.

"This talk of compassion and consideration for the killers of Rajiv Gandhi is a matter of concern for BJP because in this whole exercise, a very serious crime of the cruel assassination of a former Prime Minister of India Sh Rajiv Gandhi is being ignored altogether," BJP's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

He said the sensitivity of the crime was important and said BJP hopes government of India is alive to this consideration.

An incensed Congress hit out at the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister over the decision for early release of Rajiv Gandhi's killers which it dubbed as "guided solely by political considerations" and fraught with dangerous consequences.

"This decision of Tamil Nadu government, which is guided solely by political considerations to suit sectarian vested interests, is not only condemnable but is also against the very basic spirit of rule of law and natural justice," party general secretary Ajay Maken said.

Tamil Nadu government today decided to set free within three days all the seven convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case after the Supreme Court commuted the death penalty of three assassins Santhan, Murugan, the husband of Nalini, and Perarivalan yesterday sparing them from gallows.