Anti-Sterlite protest: Tamils are being 'killed' as they don't toe RSS line, says Rahul

In an apparent reference to police action during anti-Sterlite protest in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that Tamils are being killed as they refused to "bow" to the ideology of the RSS.

Demonstrators march to collectors office during a protest demanding the closure of a copper factory due to pollution concerns in Tuticorin on May 22, 2018. AFP

NEW DELHI: In an apparent reference to police action during anti-Sterlite protest in Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that Tamils are being killed as they refused to "bow" to the ideology of the RSS. "Tamils are being killed since they refuse to bow to the ideology of the RSS. The feelings of the Tamil people can never be trampled by the bullets of the RSS and Modi. We are with you Tamil brothers and sisters #SterliteProtest," he said in a tweet in Tamil.

தமிழர்கள் படுகொலை செய்யப்படுகின்றனர், ஏனென்றால் அவர்கள் ஆர் எஸ்.எஸ் சித்தாந்தத்திற்கு அடிபணிய மறுக்கின்றனர். ஆர்.எஸ்.எஸ் மற்றும் மோடியின் தோட்டாக்களால் ஒருபோதும் தமிழ் மக்களின் உணர்வுகளை நசுக்க முடியாது. தமிழ் சகோதர சகோதரிகளே , நாங்கள் உங்களுடன் இருக்கிறோம்.#SterliteProtest

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 23, 2018

Violence continued for the second day in Tuticorin on Wednesday and a man was killed in police firing. On Tuesday, 11 people were killed in a police action on agitators after months-long protests for the closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper unit in the port city over pollution concerns turned violent. Condemning the police action, Rahul had in a tweet on Tuesday said that the gunning down of people is a "brutal example of state-sponsored terrorism". "These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice," he wrote.

The gunning down by the police of 9 people in the #SterliteProtest in Tamil Nadu, is a brutal example of state sponsored terrorism. These citizens were murdered for protesting against injustice. My thoughts & prayers are with the families of these martyrs and the injured.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 22, 2018

Over 5000 protesters had gathered on Tuesday gathered at a locality to demand the permanent closure of the copper smelter, which has been opposed by locals for polluting their environment.