Gandhi murder still haunts Indian politics
By Jawed Naqvi
SRIPERUMBUDUR, India (Reuter): Five years after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in the tiny south Indian village of Sriperumbudur, his death remains shrouded in mystery while his ghost continues to haunt the nation's politics.
Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao's government, which rode to power shortly afterwards on a wave of sympathy for Gandhi's Congress Party, was jeered in parliament in December when it said important papers linked to the murder probe had been lost.
Gandhi's Italian-born widow Sonia Gandhi accused Rao of treating the investigations casually, signaling a virtual split in India's oldest political machine over the probe.
The issue has dominated the general election campaign in the southern state of Tamil Nadu where Gandhi was killed by a woman suicide-bomber, a suspected Sri Lankan Tamil rebel. The state votes on April 27 and May 2.
A rebel Congress party, claiming proximity to Sonia Gandhi, has taken the issue to other parts of the country, accusing Rao of concealing facts about the assassination on May 21, 1991. Rao denies the charge.
But some of Rao's ministers have expressed frustration at what they said was official antipathy to a judicial commission investigating a possible conspiracy behind Gandhi's killing.
But the government is building a giant granite mausoleum at the spot where Gandhi was blown apart at Sriperumbudur, 40 kms from Madras, the Tamil Nadu capital.
A hexagonal glass panel protects a portrait of a smiling Gandhi from the scorching sun.
The project has given employment to a clutch of impoverished Tamils. Men get 50 rupees (US$1.40) a day, while women get 35 rupees ($1.00).
"This is not how Rajiv Gandhi wanted to treat women, but at least it has given us some work," said S. Shakunthala as she used a tiny hammer to break granite stones.
The Congress Party has been in disarray under Rao since he succeeded Gandhi, with many of his ministers leaving, some over corruption charges, some citing ideological differences.
Former cabinet minister Arjun Singh left, citing among other reasons slow progress in Gandhi's murder probe.
Rao admits he lacks Gandhi's charisma, but told reporters this month the absence of a Gandhi or a Nehru in general elections for the first time would not be a handicap.
Rao's government, under pressure to act, asked Sri Lanka last June to extradite Velupillai Prabhakaran, head of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), accusing him of masterminding Gandhi's assassination.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike told Reuters later the request was "laughable", saying it was unlikely Colombo could catch Prabhakaran alive.
The Indian government says a special court is trying 26 people over Gandhi's murder but media access to the trial has been largely restricted.
Another 12 people accused of involvement have either committed suicide or been killed in encounters with Indian police. Indian officials say the Tigers decided to kill Gandhi in revenge for the Indian army's involvement in Sri Lanka.
Indian troops sent in to disarm the guerrillas under a 1987 pact ended up fighting Prabharkaran's men. They were pulled out in 1990, after Gandhi lost power.
But the judicial commission looking into the conspiracy aspect of the assassination has called several witnesses who have accused some Indian politicians of involvement.
Gandhi's death is recorded in the Sriperumbudur crime register as case number 329 for 1991. Cases 328 and 330 were road accidents.
One case has been closed because the driver of an erring truck was killed. The other case remains unresolved, much like Gandhi's assassination.