Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday suggested that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh write to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, asking her not to go ahead with her government’s decision to free the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
Had the Supreme Court not stayed their release, Ms. Jayalalithaa would have gone ahead with the decision. “They are hardened criminals and society does not need such persons to roam around freely. They should be in jail for the rest of their life,” Dr. Swamy told The Hindu here.
The death sentence of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan has been commuted to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court. Nalini, Ravichandran, Jayakumar and Robert Payas have already been serving life imprisonment.
“I demand that the Centre issue a direction under Article 256 of the Constitution to the Chief Minister [asking her] to desist from pursuing [the State’s] illegal decision… If she does not listen, the State should be brought under President’s Rule immediately,” he said.
Article 256 says every State shall exercise its executive power to ensure compliance with the laws made by Parliament and any existing laws which apply in that State, and the Union shall exercise its executive power to issue directions to a State as may appear to the government of India to be necessary for the purpose.
