The TVK government’s decision to grant a 60-day parole to those convicted for their roles in executing the 1998 Coimbatore serial blast smacks of “selective softness towards convicted terrorists” and is an insult to those who died and a betrayal to those who survived, said the Tamil Nadu BJP on Monday as it demanded the reversal of the move.
The Tamil Nadu government, led by Chief Minister Vijay, allowed the 60-day break from jail to Mohammed Ansari, Mohammed Ali, Monappa alias Mohammed Hassan, Mohammed Ajam and Nawab Khan, who were convicted for orchestrating the blasts.
They were linked to the banned Al-Umma terrorist organisation. “The blasts, executed by the banned Al-Umma terrorist organisation ahead of an election rally, were a deliberate act of mass murder against civilians. The Tamil Nadu government, led by Chief Minister Vijay, allowed the 60-day break from jail to Mohammed Ansari, Mohammed Ali, Monappa alias Mohammed Hassan, Mohammed Ajam and Nawab Khan, who were convicted for orchestrating the blasts that killed 58 people and injured over 250 ahead of BJP leader LK Advani’s rally.
“Personal grounds cannot override the gravity of a terror attack that remains one of the darkest chapters in the state’s history,” said Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson Narayan Thirupathy in a post on X, condemning the TVK “in the strongest terms. The Supreme Court itself has described this crime as “atrocious” and refused to grant bail to the convicts,” he said. The politician said granting parole to the convicts who helped plant bombs which tore apart families is an “insult to the dead and a betrayal of the living”. He said the move tells the people of the state that those who wage a war on society can get lenient treatment.
