A day after his remarks on the release of seven convicts in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi went viral, Rajinikanth met the press outside his Poes Garden residence in Chennai on Tuesday and issued a strongly-worded clarification.
Denying that he is unaware of the issue that has re-occupied headlines recently, Rajinikanth said, “A few people are creating an illusion that I don't know anything about the convicts punished in the murder case of Rajiv Gandhi. See, if I know, I will say I know. If I don’t know, I will say I don’t know. There is nothing to be ashamed in this. In my opinion, the question was not clear. If I had been asked about the letter that the Tamil Nadu government gave for the release of the convicts in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, I would have understood.”
Videos of Rajinikanth asking, “which seven people?” went viral on Monday evening after the actor-politician held a press conference at the Chennai airport. He was asked about his opinion on the release of the convicts, a matter that now hinges on the recommendation of the Governor of Tamil Nadu.
Clarifying that he was not just aware of the issue but he had also reached out to Perarivalan, one of the convicts in the assassination case, Rajinikanth said, “I was asked right away ‘about the release of seven people’. So I asked, which seven? Rajinikanth is not that stupid to be unaware of the seven people. When Perarivalan was out on parole, I spoke to him for over ten minutes on the phone and consoled him.”
Rajinikanth also opined that the convicts should be released for humanitarian reasons as they had already served time for 27 years.
"Petitions for this case have done the rounds in the Supreme Court, with the President and Central Government. Now, the state government has given their opinion and the decision is with the Governor. They have been in jail for the last 27 years. Releasing them now will be the humanitarian thing to do now."
Convict Perarivalan’s lawyer K Sivakumar further confirmed to TNM that this conversation between Rajinikanth and his client had indeed transpired.
“Rajinikanth called and spoke to Perarivalan when he was out on parole last year. So, clearly he didn’t understand what the question was when it was posed to him on Monday,” says the advocate. “He asked Perarivalan how he was and told him to take care of his health,” he adds.
The actor further spoke to the convict’s mother who has been fighting for his release for close to three decades.
“He told Arputhammal to not worry and assured her that her son will be released from jail soon,” reveals the lawyer. “I was confident that he will clarify this matter because he gave confidence to the family and told them that Perarivalan will be released soon,” he says.
Superstar says PM Modi stronger?
Responding to his cryptic remarks on the anti-BJP alliance by opposition parties across the country, Rajinikanth shot back with a question to the press, “If ten people united against one, who is more powerful?”
In response to a question on whether the BJP was a dangerous party, Rajinikanth had said on Monday that if the opposition parties felt that way, that would be the case. Even as the media struggled to decode his views, Rajinikanth offered up yet another question on Tuesday.
“For the opposition parties, BJP is dangerous, right? People should decide whether it is a dangerous party or not. I will not tell my opinion now. I have not entered politics full time. If ten people unite for war against one, who is more powerful? You decide.”
He also requested the media to not twist what is recorded on video as there is documentation of what has been said.