Rise Against Killer Vedanta-AIADMK Govt! In Solidarity With Protestors Against Vedanta!

All India Kisan Sabha condemns the brutal police firing in Thoothukudi/Tuticorin against protestors opposed to Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper Smelting Plant in which 11 people are reported killed and many more seriously injured. It is feared that the death toll may further increase. AIKS expresses its condolences to the families of the deceased. AIKS salutes the people who have been leading a consistent peaceful struggle against the plant.

AIKS demands the resignation of the Tamilnadu Chief Minister, a compensation of 1 crore each to families of the deceased, 10 lakh to the seriously injured. The police firing seems preplanned and pictures of snipers taking shot at protestors are shocking. AIKS demands action against the perpetrators of this gruesome murder. The BJP backed AIADMK Government has fired on the people of Tamilnadu rather than redress their genuine grievances. Vedanta is among the top donors to the BJP. The BJP Government at the Centre and those implementing neoliberal economic policies to facilitate corporate profiteering at the expense of the people are also culpable in this massacre.

AIKS also calls upon for the scrapping of the plant which is an environmental and health hazard. Owing to public protest, the governments of Gujarat, Goa and Maharashtra earlier did not allow this company in their States. As per National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Standards of Central Pollution Control Board, Thoothukudi was one of the highly polluted areas. Industrial effluents were causing air, ground water and sea pollution.

Massive protests had been going on against the plant and the Left parties as well as Tamilnadu Vivasayikal Sangham affiliated to AIKS have been part of it. The protests shall not be deterred by state repression. They will only be intensified.

AIKS calls upon all State units to rise in protest against the barbaric killings.