On May 18, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin met AG Perarivalan, one of the convicts in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination. CM Stalin shared a video where he was seen hugging Perarivalan. Notably, his party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has been rooting for Perarivalan’s release for a long time.
30 ஆண்டுகளுக்கும் மேலான சிறைவாசத்தை வென்று திரும்பியுள்ள சகோதரர் பேரறிவாளன் அவர்களைச் சந்தித்துக் கட்டியணைத்து நெகிழ்ந்தேன்!
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) May 18, 2022
சகோதரர் பேரறிவாளன் தனக்கென இல்லற வாழ்க்கையை அமைத்துக்கொண்டு மகிழ்ச்சியாக வாழ வேண்டுமென அவரையும் அற்புதம்மாள் அவர்களையும் கேட்டுக் கொண்டேன். pic.twitter.com/M0sOXsYkop
In the tweet, he mentioned Perarivalan as a ‘brother’ and wished for his better future along with his mother, Arputhammal, who had been fighting for his release. Earlier, CM Stalin had shared a four-page long press release in Tamil where he patted his Government’s back and called the judgment of the Supreme Court worthy of ‘history, law, politics and administrative history’.
30 ஆண்டுகளுக்கும் மேலான சிறைவாசத்திலிருந்து விடுதலைக் காற்றை முழுமையாகச் சுவாசிக்க உள்ள பேரறிவாளனுக்கு எனது வாழ்த்துகளும் வரவேற்பும்.
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) May 18, 2022
ஒரு துளி நியாயமான கண்ணீருக்கு எதையும் வெல்லும் திறன் உண்டு எனத் தாய்மையின் இலக்கணமாக நின்றுள்ளார் அற்புதம் அம்மாள் என்னும் அயராத போராளி! (1/3) pic.twitter.com/VAqzcLZOtw
In the argument presented by the state in the Supreme Court, it was mentioned that the IPC 302 was subject to the public order of the state government, and Governor had to approve the decision made by the state government. The statement mentioned that the Supreme Court Judges noted that the Governor could not interfere in the State Government’s decisions.
The release of Perarivalan
In 2014, the then-Tamil Nadu government led by AIADMK’s Jayalalithaa invoked the state’s powers under Section 432 of CrPC and sent a recommendation to the Centre to release all convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, including Perarivalan. At that time, Stalin’s party supported the decision. After the release of Perarivalan, AIADMK is also trying to take credit for the release.
In 2018, after coming to power, the DMK-led Tamil Nadu cabinet passed a resolution to release seven convicts of Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination under Article 161 and was sent to the Governor of Tamil Nadu for approval. However, the decision from the Governor’s office remained pending.
In 2020, Stalin approached the Governor and urged him to approve the pending request to release Perarivalan as ordered by the Supreme Court. The Governor said he would consider the request, said CM Stalin in the recent press release. However, the request was forwarded to the President of India, stating he was the right authority to make the decision to release the convicts.
The matter came before the Supreme Court, which granted bail to Perarivalan in March 2022, followed by a release in May 2022. The Centre had opposed bail granted to Perarivalan in March. It is noteworthy that Perarivalan has not been declared ‘not guilty by the Supreme Court. It was only judicial in nature. He was released by the Apex court over legal aspects and the fact the Governor did not take a decision over his release for long.
Congress party’s stand on Perarivalan’s release
On May 19, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TMCC) held a silent protest against the release of Perarivalan. However, the Congress party has made it clear that the different stand on his release would not affect the alliance between Congress and DMK.
The Gandhi family, interestingly, did not oppose the release of the convicts. Former Union Minister S. Thiruvanavakarasu had said in a statement that Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi never said they (convicts) should not be released. “Both Rahul and Sonia will not have any regrets over the release of Perarivalan,” said Thiruvanavakarasu. The statement had come a day before the silent protest was organized.
BJP’s stand on the release
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has opposed the release of the convicts since the beginning. Stating that the blast that took the life of a former Prime Minister also killed several innocents and injured others, the party has marked its protest against the release. BJP leader and state president K Annamalai said the Supreme Court had confirmed the death sentence of four convicts, including Perarivalan. “But as remissions followed and there were multiple rounds, the Supreme Court has given an extraordinary judgement which is given in a special case,” he added.
He said though BJP accepts the decision by the Apex court, it is firm on the state that all the seven convicts are grave offenders. “Seventeen people died along with Rajiv Gandhi on a fatal day. The deceased included eight police personnel,” he said.
Lashing out at TN CM Stalin, Annamalai said, “They are not tyagis (one who sacrifices oneself) to be glorified. There are thousands of people in Tamil Nadu who can be glorified. Hence, the DMK and party president and chief minister M K Stalin have set a very bad example by giving an extraordinary welcome to Perarivalan. “Let him [Perarivalan] live his life, but the chief minister should not set a wrong example,” he said.
He further blamed Congress for putting a double act and said, “But then they go to the DMK begging Rajya Sabha seats. The people of Tamil Nadu are watching them closely.”
Relatives of other victims were pained by the release
The other victims of the Rajiv Gandhi Assassination are not happy with the release. India Today quoted S Abbas, son of a victim identified as S Samdhani Begum, who recalled how difficult it was for him to survive. He was only 10-year-old when his mother, a South Mahila Congress leader, was killed in the blast in 1991. Abbas’s father had died in 1988. She was standing close to Rajiv Gandhi at the time of the incident.
He said, “Imagine the difficulties of a 10-year-old child with both parents gone. I lost everything in my life, and the 16 families of the victims have lost everything in their lives too. This year one of the convicts was released. How is it justice? He is a convict in the case, and we are the victims. What humanitarian grounds are you seeing? It has been 31 years. He was released, but will they be able to give back my mother?”
Disappointed with the visuals of CM hugging him, Abbas said, “The CM hugging Perarivalan is such a disappointment. We are the victim and not him. It is all for political gain that these parties support Perarivalan. These politicians should visit us and see our pain and how our lives have been shattered.”
Another victim’s brother, John Joseph, also expressed his anger. John’s brother Edward Joseph, a CID inspector, was on Gandhi’s security on a fateful day. 67-year-old John said, “My brother was just 39, his death left my entire family in the dark. My mother developed heart problems and died of cardiac arrest. My sister-in-law was widowed at a young age with a small child. I was the one who identified my brother post his killing. I have knocked every possible door for justice, but the release of Perarivalan is a grave injustice to us all.” Pained John added the court might have released him, but “he [Perarivalan] would pay the price in God’s court”.
Rajiv Gandhi Assassination
Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in a suicide bomb attack on May 21 1991, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. On that fateful day, along with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, 13 others had lost their lives.
Perarivalan was arrested in the case at the age of 19. He was sentenced to death in May 1999. He was charged with purchasing the 8-volt battery used to detonate the belt bomb that killed former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. During the lengthy pendency of their mercy petitions, his sentence and that of two others, Murugan and Santhan (both Sri Lankans), were commuted to life in prison in 2014. Soon after, the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu ordered the release of all seven of the case’s convicts.
When Rajiv Gandhi’s family, including Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi, chose to ‘forgive’ the convicts and said they had no objection if the killers were released, the kin of those who had died along with Rajiv Gandhi was not too happy with the move.
