TSIT ■ Chennai
Barring Congress and the BJP, as expected, almost all political parties in Tamil Nadu, including the ruling DMK, the main Opposition AIADMK and their other alliance partners hailed the Supreme Court order releasing the remaining six life convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination
case. It may be noted that the successive DMK and AIADMK governments and other parties spoke in unison favouring the release of all the convicts and supported the State Cabinet resolutions recommending their release,
irrespective of the two Dravidian majors are in power or in the Opposition. They also condoned the delay in Raj Bhavan sitting on the Cabinet resolution recommending their release under Article 161 of the Constitution. Reacting to the Supreme Court ordering release of the six convicts, DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister termed the order as historic, while noting the judgement underlined the fact that Governors nominated to their posts should not sit on the resolutions passed by governments elected by the people.
“The judgment is a historic foreword to democratic theory,” he said in a statement. Referring to the release of one of the seven convicts, A.G.Perarivalan in May this year as the first victory, the Chief Minister said the release of the remaining six convicts was the second victory.
“This is a victory for the strong legal battles the DMK waged soon after we came to power. This is a victory to all those working for human rights”, he
added. Recalling the DMK’s consistent stand favouring the release of the convicts when the party was ruling the State as well as when it was in the Opposition, he said it was during the DMK regime headed by then Chief MMinister M.Karunanidhi the death sentence of one of the convicts, Nalini, was commuted to life. Since then, the DMK had been consistently demanding the release of all the convicts and had petitioned the President and the Prime Minister and had taken steps to stand by their human rights, Stalin said. Referring to the Governor was sitting on the resolution adopted by the State Cabinet, Stain said ‘we consistently urged him for their release.” Leaders of AIADMK, the PMK apart from DMK’s allies including MDMK, VCK, CPI and CPI(M) also hailed the Supreme Court order.
