"I forgive," says Rahul Gandhi on his father Rajiv's killers

Congress leader Rahul Gandhion Wednesday said the killing of his father Rajiv Gandhi in1991 brought him tremendous pain but he nursed no anger orhatred towards those responsible for it and he pardoned them.During an interaction the Congress MP had with studentsof a state-run womens college here, a pupil posed,yourfather was killed by the LTTE Liberation Tigers of TamilEelam what are your feelings about these people

Congress leader Rahul Gandhion Wednesday said the killing of his father Rajiv Gandhi in1991 brought him tremendous pain but he nursed no anger orhatred towards those responsible for it and he pardoned them.

During an interaction the Congress MP had with studentsof a state-run women's college here, a pupil posed,''yourfather was killed by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of TamilEelam) what are your feelings about these people? and heanswered by saying violence cannot take away anything.

''I don't have anger or hatred towards anybody.Of course,I lost my father and for me it was a very difficult time,'' hesaid, adding, it was similar to having one's heart severed.

''I felt trememdous pain, but I don't feel anger, Idon't feel any hatred or any anger. I forgive,'' he said torounds of applause.

To the next question related to his political inningsdespite losing his father and grandmother, former PrimeMinister Indira Gandhi, he said, ''violence cannot take awayanything from you... my father is alive in me...my father istalking through me.'' Gandhi interacted with students of BharathidasanGovernment College for Women and asked them to not address himas 'sir' and instead call him 'Rahul,' while most addressedhim as Rahul 'Anna' (elder brother).

He earlier had a dialogue with people from thefishermen community here.

Answering a question on his friends and 'girlfriends,' he said he had plenty of friends including thoseboth with political background and people who shared similarinterests.

When the student repeated the question on girlfriends, he said, ''we leave that for another day.'' To a student who said she could not pursue engineeringthough she loved it, he advised her to chase her dream andassured her of support and he would speak to her parents ifshe wanted.

Though most parties supported the release of sevenconvicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the TamilNadu Congress Committee (TNCC) had opposed it.

Rajiv Gandhi was killed on May 21, 1991 by a womansuicide bomber at Sriperumbudur near Chennai in a poll rally.

The LTTE was defeated in the 2009 civil war inSri Lanka.

TNCC chief K S Alagiri had said a few months ago thatif the Rajiv case case convicts were to be set free, a demandwould arise for the release of all ''murder convicts'' who hadspent over 25 years in prison.

''If the court announces the release of seven Rajiv caseconvicts, we will accept it. However, political partiesrooting for their release is unacceptable,'' Alagiri had said.

The Tamil Nadu government had in 2018 recommended toGovernor Banwarilal Purohit to release them and the rulingAIADMK and main opposition DMK, both of whom strongly supportfreeing them, have had verbal duel over the matter.