Chennai, May 29: The DMK on Tuesday decided to boycott the state assembly sessions until the Tamil Nadu cabinet takes a policy decision to shut down the Sterlite Copper smelter plant in Thoothukudi belonging to the Vedanta group.

In a statement issued by the party, Whip R. Chakrapani said the K. Palaniswami government issued an order closing down the copper smelter plant without convening a cabinet meeting and taking a policy decision.

Chakrapani said this would enable the company to seek relief from the courts. He alleged that the Chief Minister was not sincere about shutting down the plant.

The DMK lawmakers on Tuesday attended the Assembly wearing black shirts to condemn the May 22 police firing in Thoothukudi which claimed 13 lives.

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Wellington: New Zealand’s youngest Member of Parliament Hana-Rawhiti Kareariki Maipi-Clarke has once again grabbed the headlines after a video of her staging the traditional Maori dance and ripping up a copy of a contentious bill during a House session went viral on social media.

A viral footage of the vote on the Treaty Principles Bill shows the 22-year-old Te Pati Maori MP interrupting the session by tearing apart a copy of the controversial bill before performing a haka. She is then joined by the people in the public gallery, prompting Speaker Gerry Brownlee to briefly suspend the House.

The ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the centre-right coalition government unveiled the Treaty Principles Bill last week. It proposes changes to some principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. The bill has sparked strong opposition from many Maori groups.

The Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Maori chiefs, established the framework for governance between the two parties. It remains a foundational document in New Zealand, with its clauses continuing to influence legislation and policy to this day.

The bill is being seen as undermining the rights of the country’s indigenous people by many Maori and their supporters. Notably, Maoris make up around 20% of New Zealand’s 5.3 million population.

As the proposed bill passed its first reading, hundreds of demonstrators embarked on a nine-day march, or hikoi, from New Zealand's north to the national capital of Wellington to voice their opposition.