
MADURAI: The state government must declare the entire zone around Arittapatti as a ‘protected special agriculture zone’, said Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Monday.
Annamalai, along with Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy, arrived in Arittapatti to attend a public meeting with the villagers over the cancellation of the tungsten mining project.
A plaque marking the project’s cancellation was also released during the event.
Addressing the gathering, Annamalai said, “Chief Minister M K Stalin made several statements during the meeting in this village a few days ago. He must remember that the mining project was not cancelled just by passing resolutions in the state Assembly. Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled the project over the wellbeing of the villagers. One must note that it was the state government that filed cases against the anti-tungsten mining protesters. Now, after the Union government cancelled the project, the state government is claiming to have cancelled these cases’."
Union Minister Kishan Reddy said, “During the G20 conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted Uthiramerur inscriptions, a set of ancient Tamil inscriptions that describe the self-governance of Uthiramerur town in the state.
This has been a pioneer and role model for democracies around the world. Everyone is aware of the steps taken by Modi to preserve jallikattu. Whenever fishers from Tamil Nadu are arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy, Modi helps secure their release”
The state government claims they have written letters to the centre against the tungsten project. Let the state government make those letters public. In reality, no letter were sent to the Union government by the state government, Annamalai charged.