Anti-Sterlite protests caused great damage to India. Now CBI has booked 71 people over Thoothukudi violence

Central Bureau of Investigation has booked 71 people on the charges of rioting in the 2018 anti-Sterlite protest case. As per a report by News 18, the CBI accused “identified and unidentified persons with dishonest common intentions intention of committing riots,” according to the source who has reviewed the document outlining the charges. The accused knew “fully well that they are forming an unlawful assembly and prevented policemen from discharging duty,” the source quoted the CBI as saying in the document.

Previously, in October 2018, CBI had registered cases against people from 20 organisations for rioting, attempt to murder, attack on public servants and damage to property during the anti-Sterlite protests in Tamil Nadu. The case had been registered against the leaders and workers of organisations like Thoothukudi Vyabarigal Sangam, the Fishermen Sangam and the Veeranganai group which were part of the protests which left 13 people dead.

It has been almost three years since the closure of Vedanta’s Sterlite plant in Tuticorin serving as a clear example of how bad politics could lead to bad economics. The closure of the Sterlite plant does not only hurt the copper industry, but also thousands of medium and small sector units whose businesses were dependent on Vedanta’s plant. The ‘negative spillover effect’ of the plant’s closure had an impact reverberating through the electrical industry, building and construction industry, automobiles industry and consumer durables industry.

Read More: CBI files case in anti-Sterlite protests case, involvement of left wing groups suggested

The owner of Sterlite Copper, Anil Agrawal-led Vedanta group has told Madras High Court that the anti-Sterlite protest was funded by Chinese companies which benefited from the closure of the plant. “These companies promoted and funded the agitations and protests against Sterlite. India’s import bill for copper is $2 billion, the demand was being met by Sterlite earlier,” claimed Aryama Sundaram, the legal counsel for Vedanta group before the special bench of the court comprising Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice V Bhavani Subbaroyan.

Since the closure of Vedanta’s plant, 38 per cent of the country’s copper demand is being met through imports from foreign firms. “There is a direct economic, financial interest of the foreigners in this,” said Sundaram. “Foreign manufacturers are benefiting from this and the profit goes to them. The import bill for copper is $2 billion, which Sterlite used to satisfy earlier,” he added.

The company also paid 2,200 crore rupees in tax to the government. The Tamil Nadu government had ordered the closure of the plant in May 2018. But the National Green Tribunal (NGT) cleared the reopening of the plant a few months back. However, the Supreme Court overruled the NGT order and the plant remains non-operational. The matter is sub-judice and the case is pending in Madras High Court.

Tuticorin plant produced 400,000 tonnes per annum, accounting for 40 per cent of the total copper production in the country. After its closure, total production of India fell by 47.1 per cent while the above 40 per cent drop was due to the shutdown of smelters of Hindustan Copper (HCL) and Hindalco for maintenance purposes. Vedanta’s Tuticorin plant had a share of 35 per cent in India’s primary copper market and exported the metal to Asian and Gulf nations. India’s copper demands have grown consistently over the years and the intentions of Chinese firms to uproot Indian firms to capture the Indian market do not come out as a surprise.

Swarajya had earlier reported that the churches in the region had appealed to its members to support the Sterlite protest. The magazine had also reported that one of the mobs, comprising of around 5,000 people, had gathered in front of one of the churches in the region before it proceeded to wreak havoc.

Read More: Fishermen association of Thoothukudi blames leftist outfit for instigating anti-sterlite violence

The article goes on to claim that according to the Intelligence Bureau, there were Naxal elements among the protestors too and that the police had been tipped off about this. The protests had found traction among many politicians in Tamil Nadu including Kamal Haasan. So, it seems that the nexus between some Church elements, Naxals and the foreign elements, particularly the Chinese competitors of Vedanta, may have succeeded in hurting the economic interests of India, Tamil Nadu and the poor people in the region due to the lacklustre attitude of the state government.