Sterlite stir, a voluntary act by public: Vaiko

After attending a court hearing in a case in which he and his party cadre were charged for showing black flags to the then Union External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee during his visit to Thoothukudi in 2009, Vaiko refuted the assertions made by the petitioner’s counsel during his argument in National Green Tribunal (NGT), New Delhi, that people from other states were hired and brought in to start violence during the anti-Sterlite rally in Thoothukudi on May 22 and the protests that spilled over to the next day. 

Stating that no political parties had instigated the protest, Vaiko said that people from all walks of the society, affected by the environmental pollution caused by Sterlite, took to the streets. Thirteen people were killed in police firing incident during the protests.

The NGT on Monday had ordered a three-member committee led by a retired Supreme Court judge to be formed within two weeks and to inspect the premises of Sterlite. In response, the petitioner’s counsel sought the appointment of a retired judge who did not belong to Tamil Nadu. 

Objecting to that stand, Vaiko said the tribunal had the authority and power to designate the retired judge and that the petitioner’s counsel had no such power to seek the judicial appointment. “While Sterlite plant remains in existence in Tamil Nadu and people were shot dead in Tamil Nadu, why should the petitioner’s counsel seek a judge from Kerala and Karnataka?” asked Vaiko, adding that this questioned the neutrality of judges hailing from Tamil Nadu. 

Vaiko, however, blamed the State government stating that its approach in handling the Sterlite issue was fragile. “The government should have made a policy decision and adopted a resolution unanimously in the assembly for permanent closure of the plant,” he said.