Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday he was ?saddened? that the Tamil Nadu government had decided to release all seven people convicted in the assassination of his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Rahul, however, said he was not in favour of the death penalty.
?I am saddened… It is close to me, hence I am sharing this. It is not just about my father, the killers of this country?s Prime Minister are being released,? he told reporters here.
Addressing a function later, he said, ?If a prime minister does not get justice in this country, then a common man never will.? But he added that he does not believe in capital punishment, saying, ?Rajiv Gandhiji wapas nahi ayenge (Rajiv Gandhi will not return).?
He said, ?Today some journalist asked me what I think of the decision. Am I angry? Am I sad? This is my family, and Rajiv Gandhi was my father. He worked here and laid the foundation of development. Aapke wo pyare they… aur wo shaheed hue (He was close to you… and he became a martyr).?
