A protest is set to take place outside the Indian embassy in London over the weekend, as pressure on Sterlite and authorities in India and the U.K. mounts following the killing of at least 12 people in police firing in Thoothukudi over the past two days and the ruling by the Madras High Court to cease construction on Unit II of the plant.
With the company being headquartered in London and listed on the London Stock Exchange, the city has long been a centre of campaigns against the metal and mining giant’s global activities both by NGOs and diaspora groups. The protest on Saturday afternoon is being organised by Foil Vedanta, a grassroots activist group, centred in London but which has linked up with domestic campaign groups, which has been pushing for action on the company for the past few years, alongside Tamil People in U.K., a group representing several thousand members across Britain.
“We want to point to the collusion of the Indian State in these killings. We absolutely condemn the collusion with this British corporate entity who we hold directly responsible for the events,” said Miriam Rose, of Foil Vedanta.
“We are gravely concerned about the treatment of protesters and the violation of human rights,” said Karthik Kamalakannan of Tamil People in U.K. “We also want to express our solidarity with the protesters. We are proud of the stand they have been taking against this corporate giant.” The group held a protest outside the London house of Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal on Tuesday, as soon as news of the killings broke. Mr. Kamalakannan said the group would also be reaching out to British MPs to push for a parliamentary debate.
Past criticism
Vedanta Resources has faced criticism in the past from politicians and others in the U.K. over its track record.
Foil Vedanta has repeatedly called for a cross-party inquiry into Vedanta Resources, and a review of the decision by Britain’s regulatory authorities to allow the company to list on the London Stock Exchange. “We have been calling for the company to be delisted,” said Ms. Rose. “Delisting it would be the ultimate action the government could take. We argue that the regulator never did the due diligence at the time. It should never have been listed.”
