In a series of tweets, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) President K.S. Alagiri opposed the political parties’ demand to release the murderers of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and said that it is wrong to call perpetrators of a murder as Tamils.
The statement from the TNCC President comes just days after DMK chief MK Stalin urged the Governor to expedite the remission of life sentences of the seven convicts.
Alagiri said that the decision whether to release the seven convicts – AG Perarivalan, Nalini Sriharan, Robert Payas, Sriharan (Murugan), Santhan, Jayakumar, Ravichandran – must be taken by the court, and added that it is appropriate for political parties to demand their release.
“If they are released, there will be a demand for the release of all murderers who are Tamils and who have been in prison for more than 25 years.” Alagiri said in his statement.
He said that those who have committed murders must be seen as murderers and not as Tamils.
The TNCC chief said that it is a matter of pride to call the esteemed Abdul Kalam, Kamaraj, Anna, Kalaignar Karunanidhi, Comrade Jeevanandam, Mathematician Ramanujam as Tamils and not murderers.
“Therefore, it would not be Tamil culture to speak on behalf of the perpetrators of the assassination of the former Prime Minister and the damage done to India.”, the TNCC chief said.
முன்னாள் பிரதமர் ராஜீவ்காந்தி கொலையாளிகளை விடுதலை செய்வதை நீதிமன்றம் தான் முடிவு செய்ய வேண்டும். அவர்களை விடுவித்தால் சிறைச் சாலைகளில் 25 ஆண்டுகளுக்கும் மேலாக இருக்கும் அனைத்து தமிழ் கொலை குற்றவாளிகளையும் விடுதலை செய்ய வேண்டும் என்ற கோரிக்கை எழும்.
— KS_Alagiri (@KS_Alagiri) November 7, 2020
On November 5, DMK chief MK Stalin had written to the Governor of Tamil Nadu Banwarilal Purohit to release the convicts as they had already spent 7 decades in jail.
In a show of bipartisanship, BJP leader H. Raja came in support of Alagiri’s statements citing Tamil poet Subramania Bharathiyar.
சரியான கருத்து. பாரதியார் கூட வாழிய செந்தமிழ் வாழ்க நற்றமிழர் என்று தான் பாடினார். வாழ்க தமிழர் என்று பாடவில்லை. ஏனெனில் தீய தமிழர்கள் வாழ்க என்று சொல்வது சரியல்ல. pic.twitter.com/UPvoUsGexc
— H Raja (@HRajaBJP) November 7, 2020