Countering charges against the State government and questions on the need for police firing which claimed the lives of 13 anti-Sterlite protesters in Thoothukudi, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday accused the Opposition parties and anti-social elements of instigating the protesters with an intention to malign the reputation of the government.
In an interaction with the media for the first time since the firing on May 22, Mr. Palaniswami rejected claims that the firing was pre-planned. He chose to address the press after a drama on the Secretariat campus following a dharna staged by DMK working president and the Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin, who claimed that the CM refused to meet him.