Thoothukudi violence: Mention CBI probe plea on Monday, say SC
New Delhi, May 25 : The Supreme Court may hear on Monday a plea for a court- monitored CBI probe into the killing of over a dozen protesters during an anti-Sterlite rally in Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu.
As the petitioner, advocate G.S. Mani, mentioned his plea before a bench of Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice Indu Malhotra for urgent listing, the court said it will not entertain any mentioning of urgent matters on Friday and he may mention his plea on May 28.
In his PIL, the Supreme Court lawyer alleged a "pre-planned murder" by police with the help of high-level officials of police and civil administration.
He sought registration of an FIR under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code against the Thoothukudi Collector, Superintendent of Police and other police officials.
The petition said that announcement of Rs 10 lakh each as compensation to bereaved families was only meant to please the pubic and to escape a heinous crime of murdering innocent civilians.
He demanded Rs 50 lakh each to the kin of police firing victims, and Rs 25 lakh to the seriously injured.
The petitioner demanded that Internet services in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts be restored, since these were suspended after the incident.
Seeking the Central Bureau of Investigation probe, Mani pleaded that the Tamil Nadu Police would not be able to conduct free and fair investigation into the firing incident due to involvement of senior police officials.
On May 22, the Thoothukudi protests against Sterlite Copper smelting plant turned violent, following which 13 persons were killed in police firing and many others injured.
The construction of a proposed second smelting plant in Thoothukudi was stopped on the orders of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday.
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Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
