Tamil Nadu Governor alleges foreign hand behind closure of Sterlite Copper plant

Chennai: Kicking up a fresh row, Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Thursday alleged the role of foreign hands behind the closure of Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper plant in the State a few years ago as the plant was meeting 40 per cent of the country’s copper needs. 

“The Sterlite protest...it was purely foreign funded and the entire activities, which led to the protests and the unfortunate police firing that caused innocent lives,” he said during an interaction with civil services aspirants organised at the Raj Bhavan. 

Governor: People behind the protests were getting foreign contributions

The Sterlite Copper plant was closed in 2018 against the backdrop of widespread outrage over the gunning down of 13 persons by the police in Thoothukudi district during a protest march over alleged pollution caused by the factory. Even the Supreme Court had not permitted reopening of the plant for full fledged operations since then. 

However, Governor Ravi said they foreign hands wanted the plant to be shut “because Sterlite Copper produced 40 per cent of India’s copper needs...copper is very important for the electronic industry and even now the factory is closed.”

According to him, all those people behind the protests “were getting foreign contributions”. “Even today I feel the rules (on foreign contributions) are not as strict as they should be be,” he added.

Govt: Foreign role in protest

The Governor felt that similarly the protests against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu too had a foreign role. “Whenever a new project was launched people would protest in the name of human rights, climate, green and environment. They come in different names. Foreign hands fund people- in India to create unrest and hamper the country’s progress indirectly as they are not in a position to take on us directly,” he charged.

Ravi’s charges drew strong protests from leaders of different political parties. DMK MP Kanimozhi asked him to give proof to substantiate his allegation. MDMK leader Vaiko, who was in the forefront of the anti-Sterlite agitations, also criticised the Governor.