Rajinikanth slams 'anti-social' elements for Thoothukudi violence, says state will turn into graveyard if protests held for everything

Chennai/Thoothukudi: Tamil Nadu would turn into a graveyard if people start protesting on every issue, said actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters at the Chennai airport on his return from Thoothukudi, a visibly angry Rajinikanth stressed it was the anti-social elements who indulged in arson and violence in Thoothukudi during protests against a Sterlite factory that led to the death of 13 people in police firing. He said the Thoothukudi protests on 22 May turned violent only after police were attacked by anti-social elements, adding he would not accept attack on police. [caption id=“attachment_4423253” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Rajinikanth, PTI[/caption] According to him, as it happened during the Jallikattu demonstrations, miscreants infiltrated the movement in Thoothukudi where a peaceful protest was being organised against the Sterlite Copper smelter plant of Vedanta Ltd. Earlier in the day, Rajinikanth visited the injured people admitted in a government hospital in Thoothukudi and consoled them. His comments underscore the stand of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami who earlier said anti-social elements got violent during the demonstration against the Sterlite plant, which the protesters said was destroying the farm lands and leading to severe health issues in the area. Those who indulged in arson were not general public and it was a failure of the intelligence department to have not detected it, Rajinikanth told the media in Thoothukudi. The superstar said of late, anti-social elements have become active in Tamil Nadu and praised late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa for having kept them under control in her tenure. Urging the current state government to follow in Jayalalithaa’s steps, he said if they fail to control the miscreants, the state will face a grave danger. If the state turns into an arena of protests, then investments will not come in resulting in non-creation of jobs, he said. Rajinikanth also dismissed the opposition’s demand that Palaniswami should quit over the violence, saying resignation is not the answer to all problems but added that he does not have faith in the one person inquiry commission announced by the state government. Welcoming Rajinikanth’s comment on anti-social elements, Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan said regardless of criticism, it is only right to tell the truth.