MDMK general secretary Vaiko on Tuesday questioned the rationale behind Sterlite Copper’s request for a retired judge from outside Tamil Nadu to head the independent panel constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to hear Vedanta’s plea challenging the government’s order for the closure of the Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi.
Mr. Vaiko was in Thoothukudi to appear before the judicial magistrate - II court in connection with a case registered against him for staging a black flag demonstration in 2009 during a visit by the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee at the height of the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. “The (Sterlite) plant was set up in Tamil Nadu, and the people [who were fired upon during protests] were killed in Tamil Nadu. [Therefore, seeking a non-Tamil Nadu retired judge] is tantamount to questioning the neutrality of judges in the Madras High Court,” the MDMK leader told journalists.
He said the company had asked for a retired judge from Karnataka or Kerala to head the panel, saying the sensitivity of the issue may affect their functioning [if a T.N. judge was appointed].
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Mr. Vaiko said that during the hearing in the NGT, the company had alleged that the protests against the plant were instigated. “I expressed my strong objection to this,” he said.
Commenting on groups of people submitting their petition to the Collector every week seeking reopening of the Sterlite plant, he said that certain groups, even during the protests, were stage-managed to raise slogans in favour of Sterlite. “The media and the people know that it is not true,” he said.
He alleged that the company is doing everything in its power to reopen the plant, while the people, not only those surrounding the plant, but in the entire district, are opposing it.
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About 70 persons were summoned in connection with the case, in which the MDMK leader staged black flag protests in support of the Tamil Eelam cause.