02 November 1999 :
On November 2, Tamil Nadu Congress President Tindivanam K. Ramamurthee opposed commuting to life imprisonment the capital punishment awarded to the four, claiming it was a well-planned crime against the state. But, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said he was against the death sentence on Rajiv's killers. He said he was opposed to capital punishment per se, and he was of the general view that a life sentence would provide an opportunity for criminals to reform themselves.
