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UF will drop DMK if proved guilty: Gujral's letter to Kesri

Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral had assured Congress president Sitaram Kesri that his government would ''not hesitate to take action against the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham'', if it was found involved in Rajiv Gandhi's assassination after proper investigation.

In a four-page letter to Kesri yesterday, Gujral said certain ''sweeping generalisations'' as contained in the Jain Commission's interim report regarding the DMK should not be endorsed, directly or indirectly, by any political formations. Should subsequent investigations clearly point to the DMK's indictment, his government would not hesitate to take action, he said.

Referring to the Congress demand for dropping the DMK ministers from his ministry, Gujral said, ''On my part, I cannot but maintain that the guilty can only be punished in accordance with due process of law and this process is till under way.

''You would, therefore, appreciate that no group or party as a whole could be charged with the actions of individuals. The trial court would go into the specific charges against the accused. The trial court's verdict would obviously cover the issues relating to the assassination. It would hence not be correct to suggest that the court shall not examine and determine in any manner the questions referred to by the Jain Commission," Gujral said.

Any meaningful discussion on the issue must await the decision of the trial court. Any premature deliberations would not be fully informed and might be detrimental to the public interest, he added.

The Jain Commission's interim report has ''basically endorsed the findings of the Special Investigation Team'' that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam carried out the assassination in furtherance of its organisational motive and objective.

The Commission acknowledged that the SIT/ the Central Bureau of Investigation chargesheet on the 41 accused, including the LTTE cadres, has been correct and it had no hesitation in upholding the agencies's findings.

The death of the former prime minister was a national tragedy. The need to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to book is the responsibility of all parties and the commitment of the nation and the United Front government. ''We entirely are in agreement with you on the need to ensure that all possible action within the purview of the law is taken in this regard,'' Gujral said.

UNI

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