The order of the Supreme Court on Wednesday to prematurely release A.G. Perarivalan, one of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, was welcomed by most parties in Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin welcomed the order of the Supreme Court and said the order could find a place in the “justice-law-political-administrative history”.
Stalin congratulated Perarivalan and tweeted about him “breathing the air of liberation after more than 30 years of imprisonment”. Stalin's DMK had been calling for his release.
AIADMK MP P. Ravindranath also welcomed the SC verdict. The K. Palaniswami-led AIADMK cabinet had in 2018 recommended to the then governor Banwarilal Purohit the release of all seven convicts in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Tamil Nadu state BJP chief K. Annamalai said his party “accepts” the verdict and tweeted “We also believe the Supreme Court will not allow compromising with our unity, security and integrity.”
However, the Congress, which is an ally of the DMK, decried the order.
Congress national spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the order of the Supreme Court was “sad”.
Tamil Nadu Congress chief K.S. Alagiri said in a statement that the same Supreme Court that upheld the convictions of the accused in the Rajiv Gandhi case had released Perarivalan. “We don’t want to criticise the Supreme Court judgment. At the same time, we reiterate that the convicts are the killers and they are not innocent,” Alagiri was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Dinesh Gundu Rao, the AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu, described release of Perarivalan as “shocking”. Rao tweeted “Terrorist acts should never be condoned. It's sad that the President of India hadn't rejected this mercy petition earlier itself.”
