Let law take its course, says Congress on vessel case

With the reported remarks of an Indian cardinal over killings of two Kerala fishermen allegedly by Italian marines triggering a row, Congress on Wednesday said that the law should be allowed to take its own course in the matter.

"It is usually not our practice to comment on matters which are either under investigation or subjudice. It should be left to the wisdom of the investigating agency or the courts who have taken cognisance of it," party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters.

He said that the issue was really a legal matter and it needs to be handled through regular channels of law. "Our stand is very clear that let the law take its own course," he said when asked about the reported remarks of the Indian Cardinal on the issue.

He was reacting to the report by Catholic news agency 'Fides' in which  newly-appointed Indian cardinal Mar George Alancherry quoted as having appealed to the state authorities not to resort to precipitate action and warned the opposition against trying to exploit the situation.

In the 'Fides' report, Alancherry was quoted as saying, "In the episode, of course, there were errors, since the fishermen were mistaken for pirates. But it seems that the opposition party wants to take advantage of the situation and exploit the case for electoral reasons, speaking of 'Western powers' or the 'will of American dominance'"

A spokesperson of the Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Church said later that the statement of the Cardinal was distorted by media and he had not said anything that went against India's position on the issue.