Sterlite protests: MK Stalin accuses AIADMK govt of 'taking bribe from Vedanta'; wants police to be charged with 'murder'

Opposition leader and DMK working president MK Stalin on Tuesday led a protest in the Tamil Nadu Assembly where his party had called for an adjournment motion following the Sterlite protest violence. The DMK also staged a walk-out from the Assembly with Stalin leading the charge and coming out to address the media on his party's demands.

File image of DMK working president MK Stalin. PTI

He put worth some serious allegations against the ruling AIADMK government and chief minister E Palaniswami accusing them of "taking a bribe from the Vedanta group to suppress facts".

"It was not the death of 13 people but the murder of 13 people," Stalin told reporters outside the Tamil Nadu Assembly asking for the Tamil Nadu police officers to be charged with murder.

Stalin, whose party members had registered protest by wearing black clothes outside the Assembly, also demanded for the chief minister's resignation criticising him for his  "half-hearted" move post the 22 May violence. According to CNNNews18, he claimed that Palaniswami did not talk about the police firing at all while addressing a press meet post the incident.

The Tamil Nadu government had ordered a complete shutdown of the Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) on Monday. However, this move was met with a rather resenting response with the Opposition accusing the government of merely saving their face amid controversy.

Meanwhile, the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) has cancelled the land allotted by the state government to Vedanta's Sterlite copper smelter plant for the phase II of its project on Tuesday.

The company, on its part, issued a statement to call the plant closure order an 'unfortunate development'. “Closure of Sterlite copper plant is an unfortunate development, especially since, we have operated the plant for over 22 years in the most transparent and sustainable way, contributing to Tuticorin’s and the state’s socio-economic development. We will study the order and decide on the future course of action," read the statement.