Sterlite protests: Madras HC stays construction of new copper smelter

For almost 100 days now, agitators had been protesting against the capacity expansion by Sterlite Copper; they claimed that the plant was causing harm to its employees

Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu: The Madras High Court's Madurai Bench on Wednesday stayed the ongoing construction of a new copper smelter at Sterlite Copper's Tuticorin plant.

A day before, as many as 11 people had been killed and 20 others injured at Thoothukudi, or Tuticorin, as a protest against Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit -- going on for 100 days since the company announced its plans to invest Rs 25 billion in doubling the capacity of its existing facility to 800,000 tonnes per annum -- turned violent. The protesters claimed the plant had been causing harm to its employees and increasing the capacity of the plant would aggravate the problems.

Meanwhile, the Union home ministry has sought a report from the Tamil Nadu government over the incident in Tuticorin.

Following a gas leak in March 2013, the then chief minister late J Jayalalithaa had ordered the plant's closure, following which the company moved the National Green Tribunal. With the tribunal overturning the government order, the state moved the Supreme Court against it, and the petition has been pending since.

Here are the top developments in the Tamil Nadu protests:

1. The Madras High Court's Madurai Bench on Wednesday put a stay on the ongoing construction of a new copper smelter by Sterlite Copper in Tuticorin under its capacity expansion efforts, according to ANI reports.

ALSO READ: Sterlite protests: Govt assures action 'respecting' people's feelings

2. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(MDMK) Chief Vaiko on Wednesday met those injured during protests against Vedanta's Sterlite Copper.

Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief Kamal Haasan also met those who were injured during the anti-Sterlite protests at General Hospital in Tuticorin. The families of the victims said they were facing difficulties because of his visit and asked him to leave, ANI reported.

MNM, along with other Opposition partiesm, had condemned the violence that took place on Tuesday and blamed the AIADMK-led Tamil Nadu government for the unrest and deaths in the state.

ALSO READ: Stalin to miss Kumaraswamy's swearing-in to meet anti-Sterlite protestors

3. DMK has called for an all-party protest on May 25 over the Sterlite protest incident.

4. In a government statement, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswamy announced Rs 1 million for those who lost family members, Rs 300,000 for people who were injured severely, and Rs 100,000 for those with minor injuries..

5. In an official statement, Sterlite Copper late on Tuesday expressed regret and sorrow over the deaths that took place during protests against it in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin. The company said it had appealed to the government to ensure safety of the employees of the plant, as well as the surrounding communities.

"It's with great sorrow and regret that we witnessed today's incidents around the protest today at Tuticorin. The company has appealed to government and authorities to ensure the safety of our employees, facilities and surrounding communities. Sterlite Copper plant is non-operational as we await approval for the consent to operate," the statement read.

Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy says have stopped Modi's Ashwamedha horse: Updates

H D Kumaraswamy's swearing-in as Karnataka chief minister saw a show of strength by a galaxy of Opposition leaders who are looking to unite in a bid to take on Narendra Modi in 2019

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has said that the Janata Dal (Secular) and Congress alliance has succeeded in "tying" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Ashwamedha horse (victory horse) in Karnataka, insinuating that the Modi-Amit Shah duo's electoral juggernaut has been halted. On Wednesday, Kumaraswamy was sworn in as the 25th chief minister of Karnataka in a ceremony in Bengaluru that brought together anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (anti-BJP) regional and Opposition parties on a single platform ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"I had said after the Uttar Pradesh election results came out that my aim is to tie the Ashwamedha horse of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah (BJP President). Today, both Congress and JD(S), together, have tied their Ashwamedha horse in Karnataka," said Kumaraswamy, adding, "Probably, in the days to come, Amit Shah has to go to Narendra Modi with lifeless Ashwamedha horse, as we have tied their horse."

The swearing-in ceremony, which also saw Congress' G Parameshwara sworn in as Karnataka deputy chief minister, showcased rare scenes of bonhomie between United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, Nationalist Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, Communist Party of India Member of Parliament D Raja, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejaswi Yadav, and former Union minister Sharad Yadav.

The BJP, for its part, decided to abstain from attending the swearing-in ceremony despite seven of its leaders, including former chief ministers Sadananda Gowda, Jagadish Shettar and S M Krishna, Union minister Ananth Kumar, and officiating Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah, being invited. The BJP emerged as the single largest party after the May 12 Assembly elections and had formed a government with B S Yeddyurappa as the chief minister that lasted for all of three days. Yeddyurappa said they were boycotting the event as BJP was observing a "black day" across the state.

Here are the top ten developments regarding government formation in Karnataka and Kumaraswamy taking oath as chief minister:

1) Kumaraswamy says Congress, JD(S) have buried the hatchet to work together:Kumaraswamy allayed fears over the working and stability of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. "I would like to convey to the people of Karnataka that they need not worry about the survival or duration of our government even after the trust vote as we (JD(S) and Congress) have buried the hatchet to work for the state's development as alliance partners," the chief minister said.