Congress, DMK helped Sterlite, claims Pon Radhakrishnan

Talking to reporters here, he said the AIADMK government had no capability to rule the state and demanded that Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami should explain what kind of action he had taken on the extremists, who took part in the jallikattu protests. Some groups are opposing every development project in the state, he alleged and said they had given a rehearsal on how to attack the police during the anti-Sterlite agitations.

He said posters hailing Collector Ash, who was assassinated by freedom fighter Vanjinathan, had appeared in the southern districts and asked how a British Collector who suppressed Indians could be hailed.

Radhakrishnan also described the Congress and the DMK as parties which supported Sterlite and recalled that BJP had held protests against the setting up of the factory. The permission for the factory was given by Congress Minister Jairam Ramesh and later renewed by DMK’s A Raja when the latter was the Union Environment Minister. The company was supported by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he charged.

He said Congress Minister Jairam Ramesh had decided that public hearing was not needed for Sterlite factory and now they are holding a deceptive drama. Taking exception to Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s accusation that RSS is behind the firing incident, he said it was the Congress which had betrayed Tamils on numerous issues. He said the family of former Union Minister P Chidambaram is arguing for Sterlite in the courts and the Congress leader had no locus standi to speak

on Sterlite.