Anti-social elements responsible for May 22 Thoothukudi violence: Rajini

Interacting with the media upon his return from Thoothukudi where he met victims of the May 22 violence that claimed 13 lives, the actor claimed that the reason for the protests taking a violent turn was because anti-social elements had hijacked the peaceful stir.

He also alluded to the Jallikattu protests that had taken a similar turn on the final day. He added that the reason there was police action was because they were attacked first. The actor also stood by his earlier statement that attacking personnel in uniform was unacceptable and that the investigating authorities must take steps to identify those miscreants and take action against them.

Earlier during the day, Rajinikanth met the injured men and women along with their kin at the Thoothukudi Government Hospital. He also announced Rs 2 lakh for the deceased and Rs 10,000 for the injured in police firing.

Addressing the media there, Rajinikanth said, “This (the police firing) should not have happened and it(the police firing) should not happen in the future.”

He added that it was inhuman on the part of Sterlite copper to approach the court for reopening the plant and in front of the people’s force nothing is bigger. “They should not win in the court and no governments in the future would support the expansion of Sterlite,” he said. Claiming that burning of the Collectorate and other public property was not a peaceful way of protesting, Rajinikanth said, “The state should deal with anti-social elements with an iron fist. Former Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa kept all the antisocial elements under control and if they are not controlled, it will put the state in danger.”

He said police alone should not be held responsible for the violence and that the people who attacked the policemen should be branded anti-socials.

“Their photos and videos should be published in the media. If policemen are held responsible, who will save the people? There are seven crore people in Tamil Nadu and the police are protecting them,” he noted.

After asking minister Kadambur Raju how much money he needed to pass orders to close Sterlite, Santhosh Raj, a youth injured in the police firing asked Rajinikanth, “Who are you?” when he went to the Thoothukudi GH to meet the victims.

Santhosh Raj, a BCom graduate formed the All College Students’ Federation that played an active role in the anti-Sterlite protests. Later Santhosh clarified that it wasn’t that he didn’t recognise the actor, but he was upset that Rajinikanth did not speak up for a week after the incident. “That’s why I got angry and I asked him that question. Just as we knew how to fight and win, we also know how to protect ourselves,” he reportedly.