Rajiv convicts release: Done our part, ball now in Governor’s court, says CM 

Answering a series of questions raised by the DMK members in the Assembly during the debate, he said that soon after the Supreme Court’s verdict a unanimous resolution had been duly adopted in the Tamil Nadu Assembly for the release of the convicts. “Now it is up to the Governor to take a call on it,” he added.

He also charged the DMK for not taking any steps for the release of all the seven convicts during its regime. “Instead, the DMK raised voice only for Nalini’s release,” he said adding everyone are same under the law.

“We have done the right job to pass resolution in the Assembly for the release of all the convicts,” Palaniswami said adding, “till now the state government is taking all the steps to ensure their release.”

However, DMK MLA and deputy leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Duraimurugan said that passing resolution alone is not enough. “The Chief Minister could have met the Governor privately and asked about the release of the convicts,” he said.

Intervening in the debate, Law Minister CVe Shanmugham also claimed that during the DMK rule, the then government only tried to convert the death sentence of the seven convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case to life imprisonment. “It (DMK) has done nothing to ensure their release,” he added.

Stating that the AIADMK had not wasted even a single minute after the Supreme Court’s verdict, Shanmugham said, “the next moment our government had adopted a resolution in the House,” he recalled. Echoing the views of the Chief Minister, Shanmugham said, “It (DMK) had shown partiality only for the release of Nalini and now the party is unnecessarily charging the government after doing nothing for them.”