@CMOTamilNadu , why did you or your representatives NOT meet the protestors during the last 100 days? Why was the protest not resolved by your...

DMK working president M.K. Stalin directly challenged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami on May 23, 2018, demanding to know why neither the head of government nor any authorized ministerial representative had met with anti-Sterlite protesters throughout their hundred-day campaign in Thoothukudi. Stalin questioned why the state administration neglected to engage in constructive dialogue with local communities who had demonstrated peacefully against severe industrial contamination.

The DMK leader pointed out that Thoothukudi residents had repeatedly raised verified evidence regarding toxic air emissions, hazardous effluents, and extensive groundwater pollution caused by the copper smelting plant. Rather than dispatching environmental scientists or convening tripartite mediation meetings to address public grievances, the state administration maintained total silence until tensions erupted into catastrophe. Stalin asserted that administrative neglect was directly responsible for the breakdown of civic peace.

Stalin called upon the Chief Minister to explain what concrete measures the government had undertaken to protect regional public health from industrial degradation. He emphasized that genuine democratic leadership requires empathetic engagement with affected citizens. Stalin pledged that the DMK will persistently defend the community's right to an unpolluted living environment and hold the regime accountable.