Jayalalithaa's demand to release Rajiv Gandhi's assassins shocking: Digvijay Singh

Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Thursday said his party is shocked to see Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa wanting to release the assassins of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"We respect the Supreme Court's decision on the issue of commuting of the death sentence to life imprisonment for the assassins of Rajiv Gandhi. We do not have any issue on that, as even Sonia Gandhi had appealed for the same," said Singh.

"But, we were shocked to see the statement of Jayalalithaa demanding the release the assassins. We cannot see the murderers of Rajiv Gandhi walking free," he said.

"Let us not politicize this sensitive issue, and let us not compromise on the propagators of the terror act. We have to deal with them strongly and ensure that all such activities relating to terror come to a stop," he added.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa triggered outrage in the Congress by announcing her decision to release all seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case on Wednesday, as the party blamed her for playing politics over the case.

Her decision drew flak from Congress and other parties, who pressed their demand for stringent punishment for the accused.