I met Nalini in Vellore jail: Priyanka

Priyanka Vadra, who has created a flutter by meeting one of the conspirators in her father Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, today said she does not believe in anger, hatred and violence, and will not allow these to overpower her.

"It was a very personal visit and completely on my own individual initiative. I would be deeply grateful if this could be respected," she told PTI about her meeting with Nalini Sriharan in Vellore jail in Tamil Nadu last month.

Nalini, married to Sriharan alias Murugan, was awarded capital punishment for her involvement in the killing of Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur. Her sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment after Sonia Gandhi pleaded for clemency for the sake of the convict's daughter.

"It is true that I met Nalini Sriharan in Vellore jail on March 19, 2008. It was my way of coming to peace with the violence and loss that I have experienced," she said.

Recalling her mother's intervention in getting Nalini's death sentence commuted to life imprisonment, Priyanka said she did not believe in hatred and violence. "I do not believe in anger, hatred and violence, and I refuse to allow these things to overpower my life," she said.

Her brother Rahul Gandhi said "I have a different way of looking at these things. I don't have a problem either."

Rahul said: "We don't carry hatred, we don't carry anger. It's not an exercise...She felt that she wanted to go and see the person. She has been feeling it for sometime."

The issue of Priyanka meeting Nalini in the Vellore jail came to the fore with a Chennai lawyer, D Rajkumar, seeking queries from the prison authorities by invoking provisions under Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Priyanka was in Vellore on March 19 to pay obeisance at the newly constructed Sri Lakshmi Narayani Golden Temple.

Rajkumar, in his application to the Superintendent of Prisons, had asked whether it was true that Priyanka met Nalini? And if so under which legal provisions was she allowed to meet the convict and who accompanied her?

Vellore jail authorities, when contacted by PTI today, declined to comment saying that they would reply to the RTI petition filed by Rajkumar.