Barring the Congress, almost all political parties in Tamil Nadu welcomed the Supreme Court verdict to commute death penalty of the three convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case to life term and are demanding their release as they have spent two decades behind bars.
The AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu, headed by J Jayalalithaa, however, is maintaining a studied silence.
DMK chief M Karuna-nidhi, leader of opposition and DMDK founder Vijayakant, MDMK general secretary Vaiko and PMK founder S Ramadoss noted it was now the prerogative of governments at the state and the Centre to decide on releasing the convicts.
Perarivalan’s mother Ar-putham and his sisters pleaded with Chief Minister Jayalalithaa through the media to free him. The Chief Minister, however, maintained silence, not offering even a statement welcoming the court verdict.