Congress questions BJP's silence on Rajiv Gandhi's assassins

NEW DELHI: Congress questioned the BJP's commitment to fight terror and asked why the opposition party and its PM pick Narendra Modi were silent on the issue of execution of Rajiv Gandhi's killers when they had been vocal in demanding Afzal Guru's hanging.

It said the saffron party is only interested in garnering votes and not fighting terrorism.

"We are concerned. We have not heard about any leader of the BJP talking about the assassins of Rajiv Gandhi to be executed. They used to talk about execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in Parliament and outside," party spokesman Kapil Sibal said.

"Their fight is not against terrorism but for garnering votes. Why did Modi not say even once in last 15 years that the assassins of Rajiv Gandhi should be hanged," he said.

The comments came on a day when Supreme Court referred the matter on remission of life imprisonment of seven convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case to a Constitution Bench saying its interim order staying Tamil Nadu government's decision to free them will continue.