Rebels Deny Plan to Kill Gandhi
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, blamed for several political assassinations in their quest for an independent homeland, on Wednesday denied reports that they were plotting to kill Indian politician Sonia Gandhi.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are “shocked and deeply distressed to learn that responsible Indian newspapers have in an irresponsible manner highlighted this malicious and baseless story with a sinister motive to malign [the] Tamil freedom movement,” the rebels said in a statement.
Sri Lanka’s government routinely accuses the Tamil rebels of acts of violence, but the group rarely denies any of the reports.
Two Indian newspapers reported that the rebels who killed Gandhi’s husband, Rajiv, in 1991 were now targeting her because she may crack down on them if she becomes prime minister. Sonia Gandhi leads the opposition Congress Party.
The Hindu, a respected English daily, said the rebels had practiced a plan to use a car bomb to kill Gandhi when she campaigns in a northern state before India’s September elections.
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