Stalin Dismisses Father’s Support on Rajiv Gandhi Convicts Release

Karunanidhi’s son calls his father’s support for the release of the assassins a ‘political game’.

A day after DMK Chief M Karunanidhi showed his support for the release of the seven convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, his heir apparent, DMK treasurer MK Stalin, contradicted his father’s statement, calling it a “political game.”

Tamil Nadu CM and AIADMK supremos had written to the Central government, seeking its opinion on the release of the seven convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Hours later, M Karunanidhi released a statement backing the demand, stating that the convicts had served “almost double life sentences” by “languishing” in jail for about 25 years.

But DMK Treasurer MK Stalin harboured a very different opinion to his father. Speaking to reporters, he called the move by the AIADMK government part of a “political game, as the elections were nearing.”

This issue has just been reduced to a petty internal rift between the father and the son. Only DMK has the habit of playing politics because DMK is scared of facing the elections. Why can’t Stalin run independently if he is so confidently accusing us of playing politics? Why does he need his father to contest?

CR Saraswathi, spokesperson, AIADMK

“They have also chosen to ally with the Congress, which is vehemently against the release of the convicts. So this is their political game, not ours,” she said, hitting out at the DMK-Congress alliance.

This has been an issue for many years, Amma wants to show mercy on them. This has nothing to do with the elections coming.

CR Saraswathi, spokesperson, AIADMK

Just days after Union Minister Prakash Javadekar hit out at the state government after meeting Vijayakanth, the Jayalalithaa government has thrown a googly at both the Congress and BJP by asking for the Centre’s opinion on releasing the Rajiv Gandhi assassination convicts. The Congress party has opposed this in Delhi.

Making a guarded response to AIADMK’s decision to remit the sentence of life imprisonment of seven convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit said a “humane approach” should be taken on their incarceration period, but it should be within the legal framework.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh in his Parliament speech assured that there would be a meeting to consult on the issue on Friday evening.