Swamy demands Priyanka’s prosecution for visiting Vellore jail

New Delhi, April 17 Contending that Ms Priyanka Vadra’s recent visit to
a high-security prison in Vellore to meet the killer of her father
Rajiv Gandhi was a criminal offence, Janata Party President Subramanian
Swamy today asked the Tamil Nadu government to prosecute her on the
charge of tresspassing.

”If
the Tamil Nadu government fails to do so by May 21, I shall file a
private complaint in the court to enforce the police to do its
statutory duty,” Dr Swamy said in a statement here. He said jail
officials had confirmed that Ms Vadra visited the ”highly restricted”
prison housing death row terrorists without getting the requisite
permission, which was a criminal offence. Dr Swamy also termed as
”bogus” the reasons furnished by her for wanting to meet Nalini, who
was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court for killing former Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi at an election meeting in Seriperambudur in Tami
Nadu in May 1991. It was later commuted to life imprisonment.

”…the
CBI and SPG know that she (Nalini) was a low level worker who would not
know the higher level participants in the conspiracy, but was one who
actively participated, without remorse, in carrying out the dastardly
assassination of a former prime minister…at the behest of a foreign
terorist organisation…” he added.

Ms Vadra had issued a
signed statement that her visit to the jail was absolutely personal,
and it should be respected. Dr Swamy said Ms Vadra had not disclosed
the real reasons for the ”one-to-one meeting” with Nalini and ”all
media reports about their dialogue are second hand and third hand
versions and pure hearsay.” He also said if Ms Vadra wanted to tell
the nation the truth about who contracted the LTTE to kill her father,
”she can begin by telling the nation about her father’s last phone
call from Visakhapatnam to her and the details of the conversations
that took place. ”She should also investigate who persuaded Mr Gandhi
to campaign in Seriperumbudur when even the local Congress candidate
did not ask for it, and how his travel schedule became known to
Sivarasan and to the LTTE even before the local police was informed of
his visit.” Dr Swamy said Ms Vadra should also ask her mother Sonia
Gandhi why the UPA government had abandoned the demand for extradition
of LTTE spremo V Prabhakaran and his lieutenant, Pottu Amman, who are
still Accused No 1 and 2 respectively in the trial court chargesheet.

He
said the commutation of Nalini’s death sentence to life imprisonment
was ”illegall” as Only the President of India can grant such pardon under the
Constitution.

”Hence, if any move is made by Ms Vadra to
free Nalini from prison for some quid pro quo, I shall file a PIL
against the same…” he said.

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