Don't have hatred towards anybody: Rahul on Rajiv case convicts
Chennai: Congress president Rahul Gandhi said Wednesday he harboured no hatred towards the convicts of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and asserted that it was for the courts to decide on their release.
The Congress chief, who is touring Tamil Nadu for a day to launch the United Progressive Alliance's campaign, said the assassination of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 had two aspects.
"While one was personal, which we have dealt with, the other was the legal issue, which has to take its course. Whatever course the legal issue takes, we are happy with it," Rahul Gandhi said.
"We are quite forgiving people, we do not have animosity or hatred towards anybody and it is for the courts to decide (on their release)," he told reporters.
"You need a conversation to start with stakeholders, that is the type of things we excelled at," the Congress president added.
Exuding confidence that a Congress-led Opposition would emerge victorious in the Lok Sabha election, Rahul Gandhi promised initiatives such as reforms in the goods and services tax, encompassing its simplest form and a "phenomenal and revolutionary idea" of a minimum income guarantee scheme.
On the Rafale deal, he said while there was no question about its capability, the issue was about corruption and the need was for a probe into it.
The Congress chief did not answer if his party would scrap the deal if voted to power. "The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is a 'corrupt' man, bypassed negotiations, ran parallel negotiations on the Rafale deal."
Hitting out at Modi, Rahul Gandhi asked as to why the prime minister was not addressing the media and interacting with students like he did.
"Why are you (Modi) hiding?" he asked, adding that the prime minister should have the guts to face the media.
Lashing out at the BJP, he said the saffron party's idea was to capture every institution of the country and run it from Nagpur, the RSS headquarters.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Manipur: Mortal remains of children killed in bomb attack handed over to family
Imphal (PTI): The mortal remains of two children, who were killed in a bomb attack in Manipur's Bishnupur district in April, were handed over to family members on Saturday, officials said.
The bodies of the five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister were kept in the morgue for 25 days, as the family members had refused to accept the mortal remains, demanding that the perpetrators be brought to book at the earliest.
On April 25, Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh had appealed to the family members of the children to accept the bodies. Singh had also said that all efforts were underway to find the culprits.
The two children were killed in a bomb attack at Tronglaobi in Bishnupur district on April 7. Their bodies were kept in the morgue at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal.
The incident had triggered widespread violent protests in the five valley districts of Manipur, and the case was subsequently handed over to the NIA.
Hundreds of people lined up along the way to Tronglaobi to offer floral tributes, as the mortal remains were taken for the last rites in an open vehicle earlier in the day.
