Superstar Rajinikanth took a different tangent when he spoke on the police action on anti-Sterlite protesters which left 13 dead and scores injured on 22 May. Addressing reporters in Tuticorin (Thoothukodi), where he visited victims and their families at the hospital, Rajinikanth blamed the violence on “anti-social elements”.
“Anti-social elements infiltrated the protests and created the ruckus. It is they who triggered the violence and attacked the district collector’s office,” said Rajinikanth.
The 67-year-old Tamil cine legend, who is making his foray into politics, added that there are many anti-social elements in the state.
“The state government should come down heavily on the anti-social elements – a major problem in the Tamil Nadu,” said the chief of Rajini Makkal Mandram.
Calling the incident an “intelligence failure”, Rajinikanth said that the people will have to be careful while protesting.
He said that the people know everything and will reply when the time comes.
Rajinikanth said that the Sterlite plant should never be opened and demanded strict action against the top police officials who ordered the firing on the 100th day of the protests in the state.
Though the entire opposition in Tamil Nadu has been demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Rajinikanth said that such measures won’t help in solving the problem.
“The CM’s resignation will not suffice,” he said but added that like others, he, too, has no faith in the one-man commission set up by the AIADMK government to probe the unbridled violence that shook the state as well as the country.
Rajinikanth also announced Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.
It is noteworthy that the actor had earlier accused CM Palanisami of not respecting the sentiments of the people and directly held the government responsible for the deaths.
In a video posted on Twitter the day after the violence, Rajinikanth criticised the AIADMK-led Tamil Nadu government. Speaking in Tamil and offering condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, Rajinikanth said, “I condemn the carelessness of the government, failure of the state machinery and the police brutality in the Sterlite protests.”
On Monday, five days after protesters died in police firing and lathicharge, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam arrived in Tuticorin to enquire about the health of those injured in the violence. The police action had invited severe criticism for the ruling AIADMK government.
Speaking to reporters after his visit to the hospital in the morning, Panneerselvam had assured that his government would take all necessary steps to close the Sterlite copper smelter plant owned by Vedanta Ltd.
By evening, the state government shut down the plant that has been at the centre of a major controversy in the coastal city approximately 600 kilometres south of Chennai.
Read More: Sterlite plant in Tuticorin will be shut down, says Tamil Nadu Deputy CM O Panneerselvam
The incident has created a political uproar in the state for the ruling government with DMK working president MK Stalin leading the opposition charge against the ruling government in the state.