Chennai, Aug 31 (ANI): Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday condemned the interim relief to the three convicts, who are on death row for their role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Swamy said that the resolution passed in the court is stupid and the assassins cannot be let off if a handful of Tamilians oppose their death sentence.
"It is a very stupid resolution. It says that respecting the Tamil sentiments; these three people (assassins of ex-Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi) should be let off. What do you mean by respecting the Tamil sentiment? Tomorrow the Kashmiris say Kashmir assembly passes a resolution that respecting the Kashmiri sentiment, Afzal Guru should be let off and Prakash Singh Badal passes a resolution that respecting the Sikh sentiments, Bhullar should be let off. Where is this country going to be?" Swamy told mediapersons in Chennai.
"We are one country, there is no such thing as Tamil sentiment, there is an Indian sentiment. Whatever the Tamil sentiment is there, it has to be in consonance with the Indian sentiment, we are Indians first, Tamils afterwards," he added.
Swamy further said the stay is illegal and should be quashed by the Supreme Court with immediacy.
"There is no interim order, they have given a stay, that stay is illegal because the Supreme Court has already announced in 1989 and there is also a division bench judgment of the Gujarat High Court. It says that once a mercy petition is rejected you cannot have a stay order of another mercy petition," said Swamy.
"This case won't last very long and it is only a question of time, I have urged the Prime Minister to send the attorney general to the Supreme Court and get this high court stay removed," he added.
Lashing out at the convicts, Swamy said that they are cold-blooded murderers and shouldn't be let off easily.
"These are not people who have done in anger, they are cold-blooded murderers, they were part of a terrorist organization. Two of the three are foreigners they are not even Indians," said Swamy.
"They are LTTE terrorists from Sri Lanka so they have said that we wanted to teach Rajiv Gandhi a lesson for sending IPKF to Sri Lanka, so there is no question of any consideration. None of the previous judgments on undue delay will apply to them," he added.
The Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed the death penalty of three assassins of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi after hearing their review petitions presented by eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani here. The court also asked the central government to explain within two months (eight weeks) why it delayed in carrying out the death sentences for over eleven years.
The court order came days after President Pratibha Devisingh Patil had rejected the mercy petitions of Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan, and fixed September 9 as the date of execution.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly also passed a unanimous resolution asking President Patil to commute the death sentences on the three and grant them clemency immediately. The motion for the resolution was introduced by the Tamil Nadu Government, which is headed by AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa.
Meanwhile, commenting on veteran social activist Anna Hazare's crusade against corruption, Swamy said: "Anna Hazare should be congratulated for exciting the sentiments of people but he is concentrating on only one thing and that is stronger laws, I am concentrating on another side, making the action from the laws." (ANI)
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