Karti Chidambaram flays "hero worship" of Rajiv case convicts

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Sunday opposed "hero worship" of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convicts and wondered why there was no talk about those who were killed alongside the former Prime Minister in 1991. 

The Lok Sabha MP from Sivaganga, referring to the seven convicts said, "do not make them heroes, they are not heroes," and asked whether the 15 other victims were not Tamils.

Also, he sought to know, "what about justice for them?" Tagging a clip of his interview to News18 Tamil Nadu channel on his Twitter handle, Karti regretted that the so- called pro-Tamil outfits- that support the release of the seven convicts- have never spoken about the victims. Rajiv Gandhi and 15 others were killed in a blast triggered by a woman suicide bomber Dhanu at an election rally in Sriperumbudur near here on May 21, 1991.

The ruling AIADMK, main opposition DMK and almost all other parties support the release of the convicts, V Sriharan alias Murugan, T Suthendraraja alias Santhan, A G Perarivalan alias Arivu, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, Ravichandran and Nalini. The AIADMK government recommended their release in 2018 and the matter is pending with Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee had said political parties demanding their release was unacceptable.