India's Congress Party President Rahul Gandhi, who is on a visit to Malaysia, said on Saturday that he and his sister Priyanka Gandhi had "completely forgiven" their father Rajiv Gandhi's killers.
It was a well-known truth that LTTE, a militant outfit from Sri Lanka under V. Prabhakaran that was blamed for plotting and executing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1992 while he was campaigning for elections and slated to return to power again.
When asked during an interactive session in Kuala Lumpur whether he and his sister Priyanka Gandhi had forgiven their father Rajiv Gandhi's killers, Rahul said: "We were very upset and hurt and for many years. We were quite angry. But, somehow, completely...in fact, completely (forgiven).
"When one realises that when these events take place, its collision of ideas, forces, confusion. ...When I saw Prabhakaran lying dead on TV, I got two feelings - first was, why they are humiliating this man in this way. And second was...I felt really bad for him and for his kids," said Rahul Gandhi during the interactive session.
"We have been through this experience, so we understand. I literally find it difficult to hate people, even my sister does. I don't like any kind of violence."
Gandhi also said: "We knew that my father was going to die. We knew that my grandmother was going to die. In politics, when you mess with the wrong forces, and if you stand for something, you will die. That's pretty clear.
"My grandmother (Indira Gandhi) told me she was going to die and my father...I told him he was going to die. In politics, we deal with forces, big forces, which are normally not visible. You are dealing with structures that are powerful. Those are not visible but they can hurt you," he added.
It may be recalled that Indira Gandhi was killed by her own security guards in revenge against the Operation Blue Star that stormed the militants in Golden Temple of Punjab. It had left the family of Nehru Gandhi devastated though Rajiv Gandhi was brought back to be the prime minister.
His father Rajiv Gandhi was killed because LTTE chief Prabhakaran felt ill-treated when he was brought to Delhi and cajoled to sign the peace treaty with Sri Lanka, facilitating Indian peacekeeping force to be sent to Sri Lanka. Both mother and son were killed by divisive forces and their demise has remained an example of keeping the huge country united.
(With additional inputs from the Desk)
