Janjivan Bureau / CHENNAI: The loud sound of explosion and images of shattered bodies lying in pools of blood in the open ground in Sriperumbudur haunts C K Perumal every May 21.Rajiv had some doubt of his assassination as he told to Sonia Gandhi.
The former state Congress organising secretary was at the public meeting in Sriperumpudur on the ill-fated night in 1991 when former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. “I was shocked. We lost our great leader to terrorists,” he said.
As the nation observes the 26th anniversary of the former prime minister on Sunday, a few Congress leaders narrate the chilling assassination about 50 kilometres from the city. Rajiv Gandhi was touring the state for the 1991 Lok Sabha election campaign. Although Sriperumbudur was not originally scheduled in the program prepared by his partymen, he insisted on a rally in the town.
Perumal said people ran helter skelter after the blast. “Initially, we thought it was the sound of fireworks. There was a loud explosive sound like volcanic eruption even as smoke engulfed the venue just when Rajiv Gandhi was about to address a rally. “It took us about 10 minutes to realise something was wrong. That was when a police officer was desperately searching for Rajiv Gandhi,” he said. Soon, senior party leaders, including late G K Moopanar and former Union minister Jayanthi Natarajan, identified the body of the departed leader. “We saw his body torn apart,” he added.
Rajiv reached Sriperumbudur at 9.50 pm, following receptions at Kattipara, Porur and Poonamallee on his arrival to Chennai. Pon Krishnamurthi, a close aide of veteran Congress leader Maragatham Chandrasekar, said Rajiv Gandhi was proceeding towards the stage after garlanding the statue of his mother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. “Several people were waiting to garland and offer shawls to him. When Rajiv Gandhi saw a female sub inspector preventing a woman holding a garland made of sandal wood, he asked the policewoman to allow her,” Pon Krishnamurthi said. The stranger turned out to be the LTTE suicide bomber Dhanu. “At least 20 people died. I escaped because I was on the other side of the dais,” he notes.
The assassination led to an investigation that revealed the role of 41 persons with majority having links to the LTTE. Seven convicts including Nalini, Sriharan (alias Murugan) and Perarivalan are still serving life term in prison.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi today launched party’s signature campaign for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and Assembly. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Robert Vadra were the first to sign and endorse the campaign.
Congress President launched the campaign at Veer Bhoomi on the occasion of 26th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
The Mahila Congress also launched its nationwide aggressive campaign to build pressure on the government.
“We want Rajivji’s dream of women empowerment to be fulfilled in coming Monsoon Session of Parliament. We will do door to door campaigning, signatures would be taken and then memorandum will be submitted to President of India on August 20 (birth anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi),” said Mahila Congress President Shobha Oza. The Mahila Congress will also launch a social media campaign for the same.