UK opposition party wants Vedanta to be delisted from LSE over Tuticorin issue
London, May 26: Following the death of 13 people in police firing in anti-Sterlite protest in Tuticorin, the UK opposition party has called for delisting of Vedanta from the London Stock Exchange.
The Tuticorin copper smelter is run by Indian subsidiary Vedanta Ltd's Sterlite Copper unit.
"The news from Tamil Nadu that 13 people protesting against Vedanta have been killed is shocking and demands action. This is a major multinational company that for years has operated illegal mining concerns, trashing the environment and forcibly evicting local people," said John McDonnell MP, Labour's Shadow Chancellor,in a statement on Friday adding that campaigners and international NGOs like Amnesty International have accused Vedanta of a string of human rights and environmental abuses in India, Zambia and across the globe
"After the massacre of the protestors this week, regulators must now take action. Vedanta must be immediately delisted from the London Stock Exchange to remove its cloak of respectability, restore confidence in the governance of the Stock Exchange, and prevent further reputational damage to London's financial markets from this rogue corporation," he added.
The Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered a stay on the expansion of the copper plant.
But the Union Environment Ministry had given clearance to the controversial Sterlite plant in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin or Thoothukudi after getting a go-ahead from the state pollution control board, an official said on Friday, dismissing the allegations that the Central government had directly cleared the copper smelting unit.
"No unit can operate in India, primarily, without the environmental clearance by the local pollution control board and this forms the basis for us to give environmental clearances," the official said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media over the issue.
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Resolution seeking removal of Om Birla as Speaker defeated by voice vote in Lok Sabha
New Delhi (PTI): The resolution seeking the removal of Om Birla as Speaker was on Wednesday defeated in Lok Sabha by a voice vote.
Amid protests and sloganeering by the opposition seeking an apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jagdambika Pal, who was in the chair, announced that the no-confidence motion was defeated.
Pal urged the opposition to take their seats so that he could put the motion to vote. But as the protests continued, he sought the vote of the House and the resolution was rejected by a voice vote, following which he adjourned the House for the day.
Earlier, the home minister hit out at the opposition for bringing the motion for the removal of Birla as Speaker.
The opposition objected to certain remarks of Shah and started shouting slogans, disrupted the proceedings and sought an apology from him.
Responding to the two-day-long debate, Shah asserted that the House will be run by its own rules and not by the rules of a party.
"It is not an ordinary occurrence as after nearly four decades, such a motion has been brought against the speaker," he said.
The home minister said it was unfortunate for parliamentary politics that some opposition parties were questioning the integrity of the speaker.
Shah said the BJP has been in the opposition for the longest period of time, but the party has never brought a no-confidence motion against any speaker.
"According to the established history of this House, its proceedings are conducted on the basis of mutual trust. The speaker serves as a neutral custodian, representing both the ruling party and the opposition. It is unfortunate for parliamentary politics that a resolution for the removal of the speaker has come," he said.
Shah said the opposition raised questions on Birla's integrity and contended that it was akin to questioning the country's democratic processes.
Birla was not present in the House during the entire period of the debate.
