Oxygen from Sterlite should be given to other states only after meeting TN's needs: DMK

The DMK in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday said the oxygen to be produced from Vedanta's Sterlite unit in Tuticorin should be given to other states only after fulfilling Tamil Nadu's requirements and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to formulate guidelines for this.

Party President M K Stalin said that DMK supported producing oxygen from the plant on temporary approval only on a humanitarian basis.

''The oxygen should be given to other states only after fulfilling Tamil Nadu's needs. @PMOIndia should provide the guidelines for this,'' he said in a tweet, tagging the official handle of Prime Minister Modi.

Earlier today, the Supreme Court allowed Vedanta to operate its closed oxygen plant at Tuticorin, saying the order has been passed in view of the ''national need'' for oxygen and there should be no ''political bickering'' over the generation of the gas by the company as the country is facing a ''national crisis''.

On Monday, an all-party meeting convened by the Tamil Nadu government resolved to allow Sterlite Industries to produce oxygen for a four-month period amid surging covid cases, paving the way for the partial reopening of the copper smelter, which was closed in 2018 over pollution concerns.

The unit was sealed by the state government in May 2018, days after 13 agitators were killed in police firing during a violent anti-Sterlite protest in the southern district.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)