DMK asks TN Govt to convene cabinet meeting on Sterlite issue

CHENNAI: DMK Working President M K Stalin today urged the Tamil Nadu Government to immediately convene a cabinet meeting and adopt a resolution seeking closure of the copper smelting plant in Tuticorin.

DMK's stand on the issue is that a cabinet meeting be called immediately and a resolution seeking closure of the Sterlite plant should be adopted, he said.

"The resolution should also be passed in Assembly," he told reporters here.


After a brief budget session in March, the Assembly is scheduled to meet again from May 29.

Last week, violence erupted in Tuticorin, about 625 kms from Chennai affecting normal life, during a protest seeking permanent closure of the Sterlite Copper Plant over alleged pollution issues.

Thirteen people lost their lives while many others were injured in the police firing during the protest.

The DMK on May 25, along with opposition parties called for a dawn-to-dusk bandh condemning the incident.

The government had constituted an inquiry commission headed by retired judge Aruna Jagadeesan to probe the circumstances leading to the violence and police action.

Sterlite Copper is a unit of Vedanta Limited which operates a 400,000-tonne per annum capacity plant in Tuticorin.