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Sterlite Row Updates: Police Carry Stalin Out of CM’s Chamber

“The bullet they fired at the people, I am more than happy to take it to my heart,” said Stalin.

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It has been two days since Tuticorin witnessed clashes between Sterlite protesters and the police, in which the police opened fire at unarmed civilians, killing 13 people and injuring scores of others on 22 May. A 17-year-old girl is among the deceased.

A fresh round of firing was reported on 23 May. While one protester died on the spot, another succumbed to his injuries later in the night.

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On Wednesday (23 May), to stop the spread of ‘provocative messages’ and ‘half truths’, telecom providers were directed to cut services to Tuticorin and two neighbouring districts, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari, until 27 May.

Here are the latest updates:

  • The DMK walked out of a Business Advisory Committee Meeting, convened to decide the duration of the next Assembly session. Stalin demanded CM Edappadi Palaniswami’s resignation over the government’s inaction with regard to the Tuticorin killings. He first protested outside the CM's chamber, but the agitators were cleared out from there.
  • The DMK then held protests outside the Tamil Nadu Secretariat, led by Working President MK Stalin. “Even after deaths of 13 innocent people, no action has been taken against the culprits. The CM has become ineffective. He did not bother to visit the district and meet the people. Therefore, we demand that the CM resign immediately. DGP Rajendran must resign too,” he said.
  • Congress leaders joined the protests.
  • However, the police broke up the protest by physically evicting several protesters, including Stalin, from the venue. “The bullet they fired at the people, I am more than happy to take it to my heart. Our protest will continue until CM Edappadi Palaniswami and DGP Rajendran resign,” Stalin told the media from the police van he had been kept in.
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  • DMK workers rushed to Rajaji Salai to hold road rokos, to stop the van carrying Stalin and not allow it to pass.
  • Opposition parties, led by the DMK, in Tamil Nadu, called for a bandh across the state to protest the police action taken in Thoothukudi.
  • The new District Collector Sandeep Nanduri, who was transferred from Tirunelveli on Wednesday (23 May) night, said that his first priority was to restore the law and order situation. When asked about the shooting, he said that it was under judicial review and that an investigation was ongoing. He added that by the end of Thursday, the government would have its final tally of the number of people of who died and the number of people injured.
  • On Thursday (24 May), the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board cut electricity and water in the Sterlite plant. This decision comes in the wake of Sterlite failing to comply with certain conditions imposed in the previous renewal of consent order issued to the unit.
  • A case has been filed against all the political leaders, including Kamal Haasan, Stalin, MDMK leader Vaiko, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi President Thol Thirumavalavan, State President of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee Su Thirunavukkarasar and politician K Balakrishnan, for violating the prohibitory orders under Section 144 that has been clamped down on Thoothukudi from Wednesday.
  • An advocate has moved the Delhi High Court seeking that the NHRC visit the town and conduct a separate inquiry, instead of using a report filed by the state police and Chief Secretary. The court is likely to hear the petition on Friday (25 May).

(This article was originally published in The News Minute and has been republished here with permission)

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Topics:  sterlite protests 

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