Janata party president Subramanian Swamy on Monday criticised DMK chief M Karunanidhi for appealing to Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa to commute the death sentence of three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

In a statement, Swamy said Karunanidhi should be "condemned" for constantly making an appeal to the chief minister for amnesty for the three convicts.

He also threatened to move the supreme court to have the matter heard in another state outside Tamil Nadu.

Swamy's statement comes a day after Karunanidhi demanded that the Tamil Nadu Cabinet pass a resolution seeking clemency for the three convicts, whose execution has been stayed for eight weeks by the Madras high court.

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Congress leader express concern over Karunanidhi's statement

Congress leader E V K S Elangovan on Monday expressed concern over DMK leader M Karunanidhi's statement that the Tamil Nadu cabinet pass a resolution urging the President to reconsider rejection of the clemency petitions of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, facing death row in the Rajiv assassination case.

"The DMK leader is an experienced politician, his demand that the cabinet should pass a resolution urging the President to reconsider the rejection of clemency petitions of the three is dangerous. If it is done, terrorism will grow in the state", Elangovan, a former union minister and vocal critic of DMK, said in a statement in Erode.

Elangovan said he was ready for a debate with Karunanidhi on a common platform regarding involvement of terrorists in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

Karunanidhi had on Sunday said the Tamil Nadu government should pass a resolution at its cabinet meeting 'on humanitarian grounds' urging the President to reconsider clemency petitions of the three death row convicts and forward its decision to governor K Rosaiah.

The government, he had said, should not think it's job was over just by passing a unanimous resolution in the assembly.

"On humanitarian grounds,a similar resolution should be passed at the cabinet meeting, which must be sent to governor Rosaiah. Steps should be taken to ensure the three death row convicts are released", Karunanidhi had said.

Tamil Nadu assembly had on August 30 adopted a unanimous resolution, urging the President to reconsider the mercy petitions of three convicts.

Elangovan also criticised the reported remarks by Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar that the three death row convicts should not be hanged but held in prison for their entire life.

"Aiyar should withdraw his remarks failing which Congress workers in Tamil Nadu would stage demonstrations against him during his visit to the state", he said.

Elangovan said Jayalalithaa had passed a resolution in the assembly urging the President to reconsider the rejection of clemency petitions. "I do not know what prompted her to pass the resolution as she had earlier stated that she has no power to alter the Presidential order rejecting the clemency plea."

On the coming civic body polls, he asked the party leadership to snap its ties with DMK and contest on its own.

"If the Congress contested on its own in the civic polls, certainly 60 per cent of the seats would be secured", he said.

On Tamil Nadu government setting up special police cells to probe land grabbing cases, he said those who were involved in such cases should be punished. He also justified the arrest of some former DMK Ministers.