When the Congress get together formally criticized the Supreme Court’s resolution to launch AG Perarivalan — one of many convicts within the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case who has already served over 30 years in jail — earlier this week, it raised many eyebrows because the members of the Gandhi household had made statements prior to now suggesting that they’ve forgiven Rajiv’s killers.
And when the get together’s ally DMK welcomed his launch and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin met Perarivalan and hugged him, many within the Congress had been reminded of 1997 when the get together withdrew help to the then United Front authorities led by IK Gujral over his refusal to drop the DMK ministers from his Cabinet after the Jain Commission, which investigated the conspiracy angle within the Rajiv assassination case, indicted the Dravidian get together in its interim report.
The Congress’s silence over Stalin’s heat welcome to Perarivalan is telling. The DMK and Stalin are actually nearer to the Congress than ever earlier than. In reality, Rahul Gandhi mentions the DMK at any time when he accuses the Narendra Modi authorities of “assaulting” the nation’s federal construction and the states’ distinct id.
The opposition of the Congress to Perarivalan’s launch regardless of the Gandhi household’s opposite stand appears to be deliberate positioning. The Congress leaders say the get together has to take “institutional” stand on such points. They argue that the Gandhi household can pardon Rajiv’s killers — they respect their sentiments — however the get together’s place on combating terrorism and launch of terror convicts is completely different. There isn’t any contradiction in it, they are saying.
In reality, Gandhis’ place on the Rajiv assassination case has additionally advanced since 1991. The first indicators of discord between Sonia Gandhi and PV Narasimha Rao throughout the latter’s prime ministership surfaced over the Jain fee probe. Sonia, who was not in politics then, was sad with the sluggish progress within the panel’s inquiry. In 1995, she even went public over it whereas on a go to to Amethi, expressing her agony. Both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra used to attend the panel’s hearings. Rao’s detractors within the Congress additionally performed a job in fueling her animus towards him. Rao was sidelined as soon as the get together misplaced energy in 1996.
When the Congress pulled the plug on the Gujral authorities resulting in his resignation on the finish of 1997, Sitaram Kesri was the Congress president. The Congress took a number of days for this transfer as a celebration part was towards a withdrawal redux inside months. Earlier that 12 months, the get together had withdrawn help to the HD Deve Gowda-led United Front authorities too.
The indicators of Sonia’s hostility towards the LTTE was seen even in 1999 however lively politics mellowed her down since. In April 1999, she met the then AIADMK supremo late J Jayalalithaa over tea famously, after the latter withdrew help to the Atal Behari Vajpayee-led NDA authorities. The two reportedly mentioned the then MK Karunanidhi-led Tamil Nadu authorities’s failure to test the LTTE’s actions within the state.
But in 1999, Sonia reportedly wrote a letter to the then President KR Narayanan, urging him to commute the capital punishment awarded to Rajiv case convicts together with Perarivalan, Santham, Murugan and his spouse Nalini Sriharan. In 2000, Nalini’s dying penalty was commuted to life by the then Tamil Nadu governor on the premise of the state cupboard’s suggestion and Sonia’s public enchantment. Sonia’s letter, written after the apex courtroom confirmed their dying sentences, was included as a part of a petition filed within the Madras High Court towards the President’s resolution rejecting their clemency pleas in August 2011.
The equations between the DMK and the Congress too modified in 2004. The Congress fought the 2001 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections as a constituent of the AIADMK-led alliance. But in 2004, the DMK grew to become a companion of the Congress-led UPA coalition on the Centre. In reality, it was Karunanidhi who steered that this coalition be known as a progressive alliance.
In March 2008, Priyanka met Nalini at Vellore Central Jail. Priyanka had then mentioned it was a private go to “that I undertook completely on my own initiative” and “I would be deeply grateful if this could be respected”. “I don’t imagine in anger, hatred and violence and I refuse to permit it any energy over my life. Meeting with Nalini was my method of coming to peace with the violence and loss that I’ve skilled,” she mentioned.
Rahul had expressed related views, too. In 1998, throughout an interplay in London, he had mentioned, “I have seen people whom I loved being killed. I have also seen the person who killed my father being killed. And I can say that when I saw Mr Prabhakaran (the LTTE chief) lying on the beaches in Jaffna and when I saw him being humiliated, the way he was being humiliated, I felt sorry for him because I saw my father in his place and I felt sorry for him because I saw his children in my place… So, when you are being hit by violence, when you understand it, it has a completely different impact on you.”
The Congress leaders have maintained the get together respects the Gandhis’ place however as an establishment it has to take a stand on the discharge of terror convicts. “We can not choose and select in line with our likes and dislikes. It is a celebration place. There isn’t any contradiction. The household has a private view. The get together has a view. They additionally perceive that,” a senior chief mentioned.
Significantly, Gandhis haven’t commented on Perarivalan’s launch up to now. “They have let the party take a position. Randeep Surjewala could not have said what he said without getting a clearance from the top,” a senior chief mentioned. In reality, the AICC’s communication in-charge Surjewala’s press convention got here after a gathering of AICC basic secretaries and state in-charges by which Priyanka was current. “The Supreme Court ruling came when the meeting was on,” a pacesetter mentioned.
“We are deeply saddened by the decision of the Supreme Court. If those guilty of terrorism, assassination of a Prime Minister are going to be released like this, then who will uphold the majesty and the integrity of law in this country?” Surjewala told reporters. He said Rahul and Priyanka had “in their own humane way as individuals came forward and said that they harbor no ill-will for the murderers of Rajiv Gandhi. As a Congressman and as a citizen I feel the family may harbor no ill-will…but that does not change the law and Constitution of this country. And the responsibility today to implement the law of the land was that of Prime Minister Modi”.
It is perhaps seen as a win-win scenario for the get together, which, on one hand, tasks Gandhis’ pardon as a noble gesture, however takes a opposite, political place on the opposite.
As regards the Congress’s silence on Stalin’s assembly with Perarivalan, some get together leaders are mentioned to be sad however the get together management realises that it can not be a part of difficulty with the Dravidian get together now. Stalin and Rahul share a heat relationship. In reality, it was Stalin who had, in 2018, first proposed Rahul because the Opposition’s Prime Minister candidate for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Rahul additionally talked about the DMK whereas collaborating in a convention in London Friday. While arguing that his remarks on regional events, made on the Congress’s Chintan Shivir, was “misconstrued”, he mentioned what he meant was that there’s an ideological battle with the BJP-RSS and “it is a national ideological battle which means that, of course, we respect… for example the DMK as a Tamil political organisation, but the Congress is the party that has the ideology at the national level”.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
