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“Will Thirumavalavan ask TN CM Stalin to return Panchami land on which Murasoli office is squatting?”, BJP’s Tada Periyasamy asks

By
The Commune
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On June 25 (Friday), VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan called on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and submitted a petition to set up a state level Schedule Caste Commission and also a commission to find and reclaim Panchami lands.

Panchami lands are lands which was distributed for Scheduled Caste communities in Tamil Nadu during the British rule in 1892. At least 2,50,000 hectares has reportedly been given to the Scheduled Caste communities in Tamil Nadu. It was given with a rider that they cannot sell it for the first 10 years. This was to ensure that they can use this to engage in farming and earn some income for themselves. After 10 years, the lands could only be sold to Dalits and not to any other community person.

There have been allegations based on credible evidence that the land on which the office premises of party’s mouth piece ‘Murasoli’, is located is a panchami land. It had belonged to a Dalit in the beginning which went to 2 non-Dalits and later bought by Anjugam Publications.

The issue had come to light after DMK chief, who was opposition leader in 2019 had put out a tweet tweeted in praise of the Tamil film Asuran which touches on the land rights of Dalits. Stalin was the Managing Director of Murasoli Trust back then. His son Udhayanidhi Stalin and Chepauk-Tiruvallikeni MLA took over later.

Tamil Nadu BJP leader TADA Periyasamy has been fighting for the reclamation of Panchami lands in Tamil Nadu for years. He had written the National Commission for Scheduled Castes which had conducted two hearings. A case is also pending in the High Court.

In light of this, TADA Periyasamy has asked if Thirumavalavan will ask CM Stalin to vacate the Murasoli premises from the Panchami land and give it back to the Dalits.

He also mentioned that when Jayalalithaa was Chief Minister and Thirumavalavan was in alliance with the AIADMK, there were allegations about the former’s bungalow in Siruvathur squatting on a Panchami land.  A commission of inquiry was set up and it was ascertained that it indeed was a Panchami land. Periyasami said that Thirumavalavan had lied back then that the land was not one. “He will change his stance and lie without any conscience for his political benefit.” he said asking if Thirumavalavan will have the courage to help the Dalits get back their Siruvathur and Murasoli’s land.

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Justin Trudeau: Pope should apologize on Canadian soil for church’s role in deaths of indigenous children

By
The Commune
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Following the discovery of over 1,000 bodies in two mass graves, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that he has urged Pope Francis to visit Canada and apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in the running of residential schools for indigenous children.

Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa, “I have talked personally with His Holiness Pope Francis to stress upon him how essential it is not just that he makes an apology, but that he makes an apology to indigenous Canadians on Canadian soil.”

Mr. Trudeau said many Canadians won’t be able to celebrate as the country marks its birthday on July 1. He stated, “Canadians across the country are waking up to something that Indigenous communities have long understood,” adding, “The trauma of the past reverberate very strongly today.”

According to the government, physical and sexual abuse was common in schools, with students being beaten for speaking their native languages. Thousands of children died there, many of whom were never reunited with their families, as a result of sickness and other factors.

Cowessess First Nation, an indigenous group in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, said on Thursday that 751 unmarked graves had been found at the site of Marieval Residential School in Saskatchewan, just weeks after 215 unmarked graves were discovered at a former school in British Columbia.

They further said that between 1831 and 1996, the residential school system removed about 150,000 indigenous children from their families and sent them to Christian residential schools, primarily Catholic, managed on behalf of the federal government.

Don Bolen, Archbishop of Regina, Saskatchewan, wrote to the Cowessess First Nation in a letter published on the archdiocese’s website this week, repeating an apology he says he made two years ago.

Earlier this month, Pope Francis stopped short of a direct apology but said he was pained by the discovery of the remains of 215 children and called for respect for the rights and cultures of native peoples.

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The fate of Congress party from here

By
Harishankar Nagarajan
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Many propagandists disguised as neutral journalists predicted a doomsday scenario for BJP even though the party made impressive to moderate gains in states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry. It is up to people to infer many things according to the way they look at it. BJP can look at it as glass half full while others may look at it as half empty. But it was noticed that not even 1% of the articles and commentaries on the elections focused on the real picture of Congress and its failures in states. Let’s analyze it from the perspective of Congress, so that we can sense the picture emerging as far as the final battle is concerned – the 2024 national elections.

Congress Performance In 2021 Assembly Elections

Congress got 52 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections out of which a majority of them came from southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry. Of the 52 seats that Congress got, if we combine the numbers from the states which went to polls in 2021 it translates to 33 seats which is roughly equal to 63% of total seats Congress won. So these states which went to the polls are very important from Congress as only that can help them maintain their hold nationally.

Kerala

Even though the 2021 elections are important for BJP, for the Congress, it should have been a do or die battle. The party should have given whatever it has got to fight it out, as any loss in these states can cause further trouble and it can even lead to a tally lower than its 2014 performance. But instead of fighting it hard, Congress threw its towel at the initial stage itself. In Kerala even though the party swept completely in 2019, it did not even give a fight to regain the state back which usually comes back to Congress in an electoral cycle.

The main reason for this abysmal performance of Congress in the recently concluded Assembly elections is the loss of momentum or narrative. Kerala has given 19 MPs to Congress and also completely accepted the Rahul Gandhi’s Prime Minister ambitions in 2019. In spite of this, the Congress failed to make a mark due to complete media frenzy created against it by the same left wing journalists whom Congress cultivated and harbored for so long.

There was even a complaint made by Congress publicly that they were not even able to get any media space and that it has been completely dominated by Communist sympathizers in the media. Also along with it, Congress lost its ally Kerala Congress (Mani) faction which led to serious drubbing in Central Kerala. Recent purge on the Twitter accounts followed by Rahul Gandhi can be linked to this debacle. The left wing journalists whom Rahul gave free access till now had shown their true loyalty to Communists which seems to have irked him. So now the needle of Kerala politics went back to the 2014 cycle in which both Communists and Congress shared almost equal number of MP seats. So it can create a loss at least to the tune of 6-10 M.P seats in the bargain for Congress.

Tamil Nadu and Puducherry

Even though Congress lost narrative and media spaces in Kerala, it was completely the opposite in the case of Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. Tamil Nadu media gave enormous space to UPA alliance spearheaded by the DMK. If we take reference of 2019 national elections Congress won 8 seats in TN which was roughly equals to 40 Assembly seats but DMK with its calculated smart moves reduced the seat allocation to Congress in the 2021 Assembly elections. There were talks that DMK humiliated the former Kerala CM Ooomen Chandy who came for seat sharing talks in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President K.S. Alagiri cried in front of the press feeling helpless about their plight. But eventually Congress accepted just 25 seats and won 18 seats. So the future is uncertain for Congress in 2024. If DMK wants to play hard ball again it may reduce another 2-3 MP seats for congress in Tamil Nadu. Congress strength is so weak now in Tamil Nadu that it completely depends on DMK’s vote bank to win.

In Puducherry even though Congress ruled comfortably for five years without any alliance issues, due to the bad governance and daily fights with then Governor Kiran Bedi, Congress completely lost its public support. Initially, the DMK was flexing its muscle with the Congress. DMK’s Jagathratchagan had even made a public dare that if the DMK did not win all 30 seats, he would commit suicide then and there. The DMK finally outmaneuvered Congress in seat sharing talks and split 15 seats each even though the DMK is completely dependent on Congress local leadership in Puducherry.  It created so much animosity among Congress local level leaders which lead to complete debacle of Congress winning just 2 seats. Even during the split of party in 2011, it won 7 seats. So it can be clearly said that 2024 is going to be tougher for the lone MP seat.

So with the above calculation it can be clearly said that Congress can lose around 9-12 seats in the above 3 states alone.

Assam

Assam is the only state in which Congress fought very hard. It brought its famed Chhattisgarh winning model and even roped in Chhattisgarh CM Bhupinder Singh Baghel to campaign and steer the party. It made all the right moves by forming an umbrella front against the NDA and fought hard at booth level. But in spite of that Congress was unable to unseat BJP from power. BJP clearly sensed the future threat from Congress and immediately changed its local leadership by handing over reins to Himanta Biswa Sarma. If the current results hold as it is then there might not be any change in the MP seats for any parties. But with Himanta Biswa Sarma in CM position, BJP will outfox Congress at various levels. There might be huge implosion at local leaders level in Congress as they have never sat twice in opposition. At the worst scenario Congress can lose 1-2 MP seats to the tally.

West Bengal

Congress was in MIA mode in West Bengal. Missing in action. Even though Congress chose its stalwart from Bengal Mr.Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary as its Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, central leadership completely ignored Bengal during the campaign to the extent that Rahul Gandhi campaigned just one day. This led to complete switch of Congress core voters to TMC. After the result Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary made a comment that if the current elections trend holds good he would become an ex-MP soon. So it can be calculated that congress can suffer setbacks in both the seats it won in West Bengal.

So in the worst case scenario Congress can lose a total of 12-16 seats in the states which went to polls. It means out of 52 seats which Congress won they are already in a disadvantageous position in 12-16 seats. Opposition parties can form a united front only if they can come close with at least one party winning triple digit seats. Obviously it will be Congress who only can fight in multiple states. With Congress in a very weakened position it can throw a hammer in a united front formation also. Unless Congress recovers in other states and matches these numbers, it is going to be a tougher scenario than 2014 elections for the party.

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TN Congress wakes up from slumber, takes a lukewarm dig at DMK ally for disrespecting ‘Jai Hind’ slogan

By
The Commune
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MLA E R Eswaran, a DMK ally and MLA from Thiruchengodu constituency, who spoke in the Assembly on the final day of the first session, made a controversial remark about the ‘Jai Hind’ slogan.

He said that by avoiding ‘Jai Hind’ in the Governor’s address to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Tamil Nadu has become proud. He thanked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin for refraining from using the words “Jai Hind,” which the previous ADMK government used.

Following this, many political leaders and the general public severely condemned the DMK ally MLA for his seditious speech. The hashtag #JaiHind was trending on Twitter in response to the MLA’s comments.

Hours after the speech came to light, BJP Tamil Nadu Vice President K. Annamalai put out a scathing statement against the DMK and its allies, for stooping the political discourse in the state to a new low where the patriotic slogan is disrespected.

However, the Congress which has 18 MLAs in the Assembly didn’t even react for the insult meted out to the ‘Jai Hind’ slogan for a straight three days. Many on social media started questioning if the Congress party in Tamil Nadu is really a national party.

After receiving severe backlash, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee has reacted in a way that it does not offend its alliance partner. The party’s official Twitter handle put out a video of Indira Gandhi shouting Jai Hind with the hashtag “ProudToSayJaiHind”.

There has not been an official statement from the party’s president K.S. Alagiri or other senior leaders from Tamil Nadu at the national level condemning the DMK for removing Jai Hind from Governor’s Address or MLA Eswaran’s speech.

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20 year old girl from tribal community in Tamil Nadu brings school to her village

By
The Commune
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Sandhya Shanmugam has set an example for all women out there that sky is the limit by bringing classrooms to her tribal village of Chinnampatti. She is the first graduate from the remote hamlet of Chinnampatty, and all of 20 years old at that. She is now bringing schools back to her village.

I endured the difficulties. I know what it takes to get basic rights. So now, I will educate other kids in Chinnampathy,” Sandhya Shanmugam said. She went on to say that she had to walk through forests filled with wild animals to get to school, and now, she wants to make education an easier reach for the kids in her village.

“Schooling is very tough here. We have never had proper transport from our tribal village to the nearest villages or towns. Our kids go to school in the morning on the government bus, which returns only in the evening,” said Shanmugam. “I endured the difficulties. I know what it takes to get basic rights. So now, I have taken the responsibility to educate other kids in Chinnampathy.”

After the COVID outbreak, the already difficult path to education became even more inaccessible to the children of Chinnampathy. Taking matters into her hands, Sandhya gathered the kids in her village in a community building and went on to teach them. It is to be noted that this village recently made the news for recording zero COVID cases.

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Vatican’s homophobia shines through the cross, opposes Italy’s new bill against LGBTQ discrimination

By
The Commune
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The Vatican has protested to the Italian government over a Zan bill on homophobia currently going through the parliament before it becomes a law, reports the BBC.

For the Vatican, the Zan bill would curb religious freedoms secured in a treaty as once this bill is passed it would punish discrimination and incitement to violence against the LGBT community, as well as women and people with disabilities.

However, this law will prove detrimental to the Vatican because, under current Roman Catholic doctrine, gay relationships are referred to as “deviant behaviour”.
 
 The Zan bill is named after LGBT activist and politician Alessandro Zan and has already been passed by the lower house of parliament in November. It now needs to pass the Senate. Once that happens, this law will give legal protections for women and people who are LGBT and disabled people. Those found guilty of hate crimes or discrimination against these said groups could face up to four years in prison.

Alessandro Zan, who is sponsoring the bill in a tweet said, “The text [of the law] does not restrict in any way freedom of expression or religious freedom. And it respects the autonomy of all schools,”.

The Vatican informally delivered a letter to Italy’s ambassador on 17 June stating strong reservation against this proposed law. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told AFP news agency that this bill was “an unprecedented act in the history of relations” between Italy and the Vatican as it would violate the Lateran Treaty, signed by the two in 1929, which recognized Vatican City as an independent state.

The Vatican is particularly objected to Catholic schools not being exempted from a proposed national day against homophobia and transphobia, to be held on 17 May as Catholics could face legal action for expressing their opinions on LGBT issues.

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Watch: Jawan from TN lashes out at DMK and allies for disrespecting ‘Jai Hind’ slogan

By
The Commune
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MLA E R Eswaran, a DMK ally and MLA from Thiruchengodu constituency, who spoke in the Assembly on the final day of the first session, made a controversial remark about the ‘Jai Hind’ slogan.

ER Eswaran, who runs a caste outfit in the Kongu region, told the Tamil Nadu State Assembly that by avoiding ‘Jai Hind’ in the Governor’s address to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Tamil Nadu has become proud. He thanked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin for refraining from using the words “Jai Hind,” which the previous ADMK government used.

A clipping of Eswaran’s speech went viral on social media. Following this, many political leaders and the general public severely condemned the DMK ally MLA for his seditious speech. The hashtag #JaiHind was trending on Twitter in response to the MLA’s comments.

In light of this, a CRPF jawan from Tamil Nadu has put out a video in which he lashed out at the MLA for disrespecting the patriotic slogan.

“Vanakkam to all! In the Assembly, an MLA has spoken that removal of ‘Jai Hind’ is a good thing. Is ‘Jai Hind’ a bad word for you guys? What are you people up to? Are you people educated or not? What is wrong with these three slongans – ‘Jai Hind’, ‘Vande Mataram’, Bharat Mata Ki Jai’? Where is it burning for you if we chant these slogans?” he says in the video.

He further adds “Anybody who loves India will chant these slogans. We in the Army chant these slogans every day. We keep chanting ‘Jai Hind Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ every single day. What is bothering you if we chant ‘Jai Hind’? Tamil Nadu people are still in silence even after seeing this. We’re CRPF. We’re the force that protects the Chief Minister. Let him say ‘Jai Hind’ should not be uttered’.

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Tap water supply increases four-fold from 7% to 31% in 117 Aspirational districts in just 22 months

By
The Commune
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An independent appraisal reportreleased by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has lauded the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) ‘as a very successful model of local area development that should serve as a best practice for several countries where regional disparities in development status persist for many reasons.’

With concerted efforts made under ADP, these 117 districts in remote locations with low human development indicators and basic facilities, have experienced faster development. Jal Jeevan Mission has played a key role to make it possible. On 15th August, 2019, when Jal Jeevan Mission was announced, only 24.58 lakh (7%) households in Aspirational Districts had tap water supply. In a short span of 22 months, tap water connections have been provided to additional 84 lakh households in thesedistricts and thus now 31.37% household have assured tap water supply. This 24% increase in coverage in aspirational districts is more than 22.72% increase in tap water supply across the country during these 22 months.

The Aspirational Districts Programme was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January, 2018 as a part of government’s effort to raise the living standards of citizens livingin 117 districts which were lagging behind in various human development index parameters.

Jal Jeevan Mission is a key programme reducing deep inequalities in these districts. Following the principle of Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SabkaSaath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’, the motto of the Mission is that ‘no one is left out’ and every household in a village should be provided with tap water connection.

At the start of Jal Jeevan Mission in 2019, out of a total of 19.20 Crore rural households in the country, only 3.23 Crore (17%) had tap water supply. During the last 22 months, despite Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown disruptions, Jal Jeevan Mission, has been implemented with speed and 4.36 Crore households have been provided with piped connections. With the increase in coverage by about 23%, presently 7.59 Crore (39.58%) rural households across the country have tap water supply. Goa, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry have achieved 100% household connection in rural areas and has become ‘Har Ghar Jal’. Translating the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of providing clean tap water to every household, at present, every household in 63 districts and about 94 thousand villages has tap water supply.

Union Minister, Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in his letters to the Chief Ministers of States have been constantly reiterating the emphasis given by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide tap water on priority in next few months to all households in Aspirational Districts, SC/ST majority villages and quality-affected areas.

All 3 Aspirational Districts of Telangana have become ‘Har Ghar Jal.’It is expected that all households in villages of Aspirational Districts in Bihar in 2021, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Punjab and Sikkim in 2022 will get tap water connections.

Among the States, Bihar has done a lot of good work in Aspirational Districts. Now, 72% households in 13 Aspirational Districts in State have tap water supply. In Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, which is an Aspirational District,82% rural households have been provided with tap water connection under Jal Jeevan Mission. Similarly, 77% households in Narmada, an Aspirational District in Gujarat, has tap water supply. Villages in this hilly region with rocky aquifer and low ground water lever, had no reliable source of drinking water. A multi-village scheme of two water treatment plants was planned on Ukai reservoir. The scheme is now providing potable water in 221 villages covering 2.75 lakh people.

To ensure safe tap water to children in schools, ashramshalas and anganwadi centres in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced 100-days campaign, which was launched by the Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on 2ndOctober 2020. As a result, States/ UTs like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands have made provision of tap water in schools, ashramshalas and anganwadi centres.

For other States, Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in his letters to the Chief Ministers has urged them to ensure that in few months provision of safe tap water is made in all remaining schools, ashramshalas and anganwadi centres of their States for better health, improved sanitation and hygiene for children.

Jal Jeevan Mission announced by the Prime Minister on 15thAugust 2019 from Red Fort is under implementation in partnership with States/ UTs to provide tap water connection to every rural household of the country by 2024. Total budget for Jal Jeevan Mission in 2021-22 is ₹50,011 Crore. With State’s own resources and ₹26,940 Crore as 15thFinance Commission tied grant for water and sanitation to RLBs/ PRIs, this year, more than ₹ 1 lakh Crore are being invested in rural drinking water supply sector. This is creating new employment opportunities in villages and boosting the rural economy.

(Published from PIB)

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DRDO successfully test fires Enhanced Pinaka Rocket

By
The Commune
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Continuing the development of Artillery Rocket Systems, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test fired extended range version of indigenously developed Pinaka rocket from a Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) on 24th and 25th June 2021 at Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

Twenty-five Enhanced Pinaka Rockets were launched in quick succession against targets at different ranges. All the mission objectives were met during the launches. The enhanced range version of Pinaka Rocket System can destroy targets at distances up to 45 kms.

All the flight articles were tracked by Range instruments including Telemetry, Radar and Electro Optical Tracking System deployed by ITR & Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE).

The rocket system has been developed jointly by Pune based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) with manufacturing support from M/s Economic Explosives Limited, Nagpur. The development of Enhanced Pinaka system was taken up to achieve longer range performance.

Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO and the Industry on the successful launch of Enhanced Pinaka Rockets. Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy commended the efforts of the teams involved in the successful trials.

(Published from PIB)

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“Using the term ‘Union’ is prelude to the demand for separate Tamil Nadu,” DMK supporter makes seditious argument

By
The Commune
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Dravidian fanatic leader Pasumpon has said in an interview that the move to adopt the term “Union” to refer to the central government is a prelude to raising the demand for a separate Tamil Nadu. He also said that the AK Rajan committee is formed only to reject NEET.

Pasumpon, the founder and president of the Anna Dravida Makkal Munnetra Kazhagham, a letter pad party that supports the ruling DMK, stated in an interview with the Liberty Tamil YouTube channel that using the term “Union” is a prelude and warning to the demand for a separate Tamil Nadu.

He also stated that they will not hesitate to seek a separate Tamil Nadu if the central government interferes with Tamil Nadu’s language, culture, food, and other livelihood problems.

He went on to say that King Bharata, the son of King Dushyanta and Queen Shakuntala, did not rule over all of India, and thus referring to India as ‘Bharatham’ signifies slavery.

“The DMK government has not changed its stand to scrap NEET and AK Rajan Committee is formed only to reject NEET,” he added.

To his part, anchor Jeeva Sagapthan lied in the interview that Thiagarajan, the IPS officer who investigated Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, obtained testimony from Perarivalan only using third-degree treatment. It is worth noting that late Ragothaman, who was the chief investigating officer in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, stated numerous times that in cases involving terror activities, judgment is not issued only based on testimony and that Perarivalan’s testimony was materially corroborated.

Pasumpon also urged the state government to grant indefinite parole to all seven Rajiv Gandhi assassins if the central government does not take immediate action on their mercy petition.

Netizens voiced opposition to the DMK supporter’s remarks.

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