Rajiv killers' mercy file goes to Pranab Mukherjee

Chennai: President-elect Pranab Mukherjee may not even have taken the oath of office yet, but there already seems to be an item on his agenda. A short while after Mukherjee was declared winner in the Presidential polls, UPA ally and DMK chief M Karunanidhi said his party’s demands against the death sentence of three Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination convicts would continue to stand.

Speaking to reporters, Karunanidhi said he had spoken to Mukherjee in the evening and congratulated him on his election to the country’s highest office. “Pranab Mukherjee called me and thanked me for my support. I congratulated him on behalf of the DMK,” said Karunanidhi.

“I have already spoken on my stance on the issue. I am against capital punishment in general. Our party has already presented its request on the matter of the death sentences of Perarivalan and others. They continue to stand,” said Karunanidhi.

Pranab Mukherjee may not have taken the oath of office yet, but there already seems to be an item on his agenda.

When asked whether he would attend the swearing in ceremony of Pranab Mukherjee, Karunanidhi simply said that his party’s MPs would be attending the ceremony. He also credited Mukherjee as someone who was an “excellent democrat and administrator” for the extra votes that he secured as a result of cross voting.

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