After the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday, November 11 ordered the release of all the six remaining convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, including Nalini and Murugan, the Indian National Congress (INC) condemned the decision. Jairam Ramesh, MP and General Secretary in charge of communications for the INC, said that it is totally unacceptable, completely erroneous, and wholly untenable. “It is most unfortunate that the Supreme Court has not acted in consonance with the spirit of India on this issue,” the press release read.
The SC’s order comes six months after the release of AG Perarivalan, another convict, in May. Seven people — Murugan alias Sriharan, Nalini, Perarivalan, Santhan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, and P Ravichandran — were arrested for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The assassination was executed by a suicide bomber of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during an election meeting in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur in 1991. All seven of them had been in jail since 1991.
Karti P Chidambaram, Congress MP for Sivaganga, said, "If the law permits release, so be it. But it must apply to convicts in other cases too. Under no circumstances should the assassins be celebrated.”
If the law permits release, so be it, but it must apply to convicts in other cases too. Under no circumstances should the assassins be celebrated. #RajivGandhi @INCIndia https://t.co/pOE6veAaz9
— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) November 11, 2022
Rama Suganthan, vice president of the INC Tamil Nadu, asked whether the Union government would deport some of the convicts who were released today, as they are foreign nationals. He was referring to Murugan, Robert Payas, and Jayakumar who are Sri Lankan nationals.
தலைவர் ராஜீவ் காந்தி கொலை வழக்கில் குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டுள்ள நபர்களை இன்று உச்சநீதிமன்றம் விடுதலை செய்துள்ளது. இவர்களில் வெளிநாட்டை சார்ந்த குற்றவாளிகளும் உள்ளனர் அவர்களை உடனடியாக நாடு கடத்த வேண்டும் ! இதனை மத்திய உள்துறை அமைச்சகம் செய்யுமா? @AmitShah @INCTamilNadu @KS_Alagiri
— (வாழப்பாடி இராம சுகந்தன்) (@vazhapadi) November 11, 2022
In an interview to a Tamil news channel, Balakrishnan, the state secretary of the CPI(M), welcomed the release of the remaining convicts. He said that while the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed resolutions on the release of convicts multiple times and moved the resolutions to the Governor, the Governor forwarded them to the Union government instead of acting on them.
“The Union government again sent recommendations to the President whereas the President forwarded them to the Governor. The demand for release was on the table for many years, but was neglected. Else, they would have been freed much earlier. The Governor could have released all the convicts after Perarivalan’s release using the special power granted to him under Article 161. [Article 161 empowers the Governor of a state “to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offense against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the State extends”.] But he didn’t do that. So, the Supreme Court used its special power to release Perarivalan first,” he said.
Dr S Ramadoss, founder of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), took to Twitter to express his happiness over the release of the convicts. He said that he welcomed the SC’s decision, which was based on good conduct and educational qualifications, and on Perarivalan’s release. If the Governor had accepted the 2018 resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu government, the convicts might have been released much earlier. Ramadoss also pointed out that the government should introduce a time limit for the Governor to decide on Assembly resolutions.
ராஜிவ் கொலை வழக்கில் தண்டனைக் காலத்தை நிறைவு செய்த பிறகும் சிறை தண்டனை அனுபவித்து வந்த நளினி, முருகன், ரவிச்சந்திரன், சாந்தன், இராபர்ட் பயாஸ், ஜெயக்குமார் ஆகிய 6 பேரையும் விடுதலை செய்து உச்சநீதிமன்றம் தீர்ப்பளித்திருக்கிறது. இந்தத் தீர்ப்பு மகிழ்ச்சியளிக்கிறது!(1/4)
— Dr S RAMADOSS (@drramadoss) November 11, 2022
T Velmurugan, Panruti MLA and leader of Tamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi, thanked the judges who passed the order releasing the convicts. He tweeted, “Heartfelt thanks to the SC judges who released all the six convicts Nalini, Murugan, Jayakumar, Ravichandran, Santhan, and Robert Payas, who served 30 years’ prison sentence.”
முன்னாள் பிரதமர் திரு.ராஜீவ் காந்தி.அவர்களின் கொலை வழக்கில் குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டு
— Velmurugan.T (@VelmuruganTVK) November 11, 2022
30 ஆண்டுகளுக்கும் மேலாக சிறை தண்டனை அனுபவித்து வந்த நளினி. ரவிச்சந்திரன்.முருகன். சாந்தன்.ராபர்ட் பயஸ், ஜெயக்குமார்.ஆகிய ஆறு பேரையும் விடுதலை செய்துள்ள உச்சநீதிமன்ற நீதியரசர்களுக்கு நெஞ்சார்ந்த நன்றி pic.twitter.com/J69xbiZDoa
Meanwhile, Naam Tamilar Katchi chief coordinator Seeman said that the SC order releasing the remaining six convicts brought him much happiness, and conveyed his wishes to everyone who worked towards the release.
இராஜீவ் காந்தி வழக்கில், மீதமுள்ள ஆறு தமிழர்களையும் விடுதலை செய்திருக்கும் உச்ச நீதிமன்றத்தின் தீர்ப்பு பெருமகிழ்ச்சியளிக்கிறது. இத்தீர்ப்புக்காக சட்டப்போராட்டம் நடத்தி உழைத்திட்ட அனைவருக்கும் எனது வாழ்த்துகளும், பேரன்பும்!
— சீமான் (@SeemanOfficial) November 11, 2022
Perarivalan Interview: The toughest battle was not to lose myself in prison