Addressing a press conference Ramamurthy said the Congress chief's action was an insult to her late husband. He also took exception to her remark that no politics was involved in her appeal to the President.

He said Nalini's daughter was now eight years old and according to law, her father was the legal custodian of the child. Going by this, it could also be argued that the girl's father Murugan, another condemned prisoner in the case should also be shown mercy, he added.

Opposing mercy for the killers of the late prime minster, Ramamurthy said only the hirelings of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had now started a concerted campaign for mercy for the Rajivassassins.

Ramamurthy also termed as immature the act of Sonia Gandhi writing to the President to show mercy as it interfered with the President's prerogative to decide on the issue independently. Referring to the Madras High Court judgement on Thursday setting aside Governor Fathima Beevi's order rejecting the mercy petitions filed by the condemned prisoners, Ramamurthy said there was no precedent in the past of presidents and governors acting on the advice of the council of ministers to decide on mercy petitions.

While the president or the governor were free to consult the council of ministers or anybody else before deciding the issue. They should in no way be compelled to consult the council of ministers, he added.

The high court, by its ruling, had set a precedent in this regard, he added. Ramamurthy disapproved of numerous bodies appealing to the President for clemency to the killers and described them as hirelings of the LTTE.