Thoothukudi report leakage: AIADMK demands Stalin’s resignation

CHENNAI: The opposition AIADMK has demanded the resignation of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin over the leakage of the report of the 2018 Thoothukudi police firing in which 13 people were killed.

The media had reported the contents of the Justice (Rtd) Aruna Jagadeesan commission report which called for stringent action against some police officers involved in the firing as also the poor administrative capacities of the then Thoothukudi district collector N. Venkatesan.

In a statement on Sunday, AIADMK senior leader and former minister, D. Jayakumar called for Stalin's resignation and said that the leakage of the report was for diverting the attention of people from the failures of the state government.

Jayakumar said that the report was submitted to the government in a sealed cover and added that it was the responsibility of the state government officers to keep it confidential until it was tabled in house.

He also called for the arrest of those who were responsible for leaking the report and said that there was no other way for the Chief Minister other than to resign from the post owing moral responsibility.

The previous AIADMK report had constituted the Justice (Rtd) Aruna Jagadeesan commission to probe into the police firing against civilians who were conducting a protest against the Sterlite Copper plant at Thoothukudi.

The firing which took place on May 23-24, 2018 led to the killing of 13 civilians in the police firing.

The commission had given its report in May 2022 to the state government and the contents were kept a secret.