Veteran Communist Party of India leader R. Nallakannu on Monday charged that Rajini Makkal Mandram founder Rajinikanth spoke as Sterlite Copper’s voice in his recent interview to media after meeting those injured in the anti-Sterlite protests in Thoothukudi.
Interacting with journalists after visiting Kachanatham village in Sivaganga district, which witnessed brutal attack on Dalits by a group of caste Hindus leading to the death of three persons, Mr. Nallakannu said Mr. Rajinikanth had initially condemned the killing of people in police firing during the protest on May 22. “However, within a week, his stance changed. When he visited Thoothukudi, his voice sounded like the voice of Sterlite,” he charged.
Terming the killing of protesters in Thoothukudi the worst atrocity that Tamil Nadu had ever seen, he blamed the government and the police, in particular, for intentionally “murdering” the protesters.
Stating that the administration’s claim that officials in the rank of Deputy Tahsildars issued the shooting orders was unacceptable, he alleged that the police were still harassing the protesters by foisting cases and arresting them.
On the attack on Dalits in Kachanatham, he said the police failed to protect the families despite complaints against a section of caste Hindus. “The men and women from the oppressed community in the village were doing better educationally and economically. It appears that a few caste Hindu families could not tolerate this,” he said. Urging the police and the district administration to arrest all the accused in the case and ensure punishment for them in the court swiftly, he said the protection of the oppressed community in the village must be ensured. “The government must also arrange for all basic amenities in the village,” he said.