Sterlite protest LIVE updates | Senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi slammed the EK Palaniswami-led Tamil Nadu government for the deaths of 13 people in police firing and asked who had ordered the police to open fire. He also questioned why no one has been suspended so far and the government response has been restricted to only transfers. He also questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked why has he not spoken on the violence here when he has time to respond to fitness challenges on Twitter. Earlier, home minister Rajnath Singh appealed to the people of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu to remain calm and maintain peace in the wake of the violence that has claimed 13 lives. The Home Ministry has sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government on the police firing and the prevailing situation in the port city, the minister said. After DMK working president MK Stalin staged a protest outside Tamil Nadu chief minister’s office, CM E Palaniswami rubbished Stalin’s claim and said that “DMK not getting an appointment is a false thing”. He alleged that the opposition parties are instigating people to protest. Stalin was lifted by police officers and evicted from outside Tamil Nadu chief minister’s office after he sat on a protest along with other party members. The party has already called for a dawn-to-dusk bandh on Friday, however, the workers sat on a protest after they did not get an appointment to meet the CM.
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Even as fresh violence has not been reported in Tuticorin, the death toll has risen to 13. The electricity supply to Sterlite Copper Smelter plant in Thoothukudi was also disconnected in the morning after Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) ordered its closure with immediate effect. In its orders, the TNPCB said that during inspections it was found that “the unit was carrying out activities to resume its production operations”. Meanwhile, internet remains suspended in Tuticorin and adjoining districts of Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari after state government ordered to suspend services for five days to prevent spread of rumours through social media and help bring public tranquility. Noting that anti-social elements were trying to exploit the situation, the government directed nodal officers of Internet Service Providers in these three districts to suspend internet services till May 27. A day earlier, the National Human Rights Commission issued notices to Tamil Nadu chief secretary and the director general of police, asking them to submit a detailed report in two weeks on the large-scale violence in the srea, while the Madras High Court stayed the proposed expansion of the plant. At least 11 people were killed in alleged police firing, while 30 others were left injured as a mob of 20,000 people went on a rampage in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi demanding the copper unit be shut down as it has been causing pollution the area. Condemning the police action against protesters, DMK and other opposition parties in Tamil Nadu have called for a dawn-to-dusk bandh on Friday in Tuticorin.
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