Nearly three years after apparently admitting that anti-social elements had infringed in the Sterlite protests that culminated into a police firing that killed at least 13 citizens, Rajinikanth has now twisted the tale by claiming that he has no evidence to produce to validate his admission and that he had made the statement keeping in mind the welfare of people.

In what has become one of the blemishes for the current Tamil Nadu ruling ADMK government under Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, the state police department had unfolded a brutal approach towards the people of Thoothukudi, who were protesting against the Sterlite Copper plant in the area and demanding the government to close the plant. The protesters voiced against the Copper plant for polluting the air and water and causing a menace to their livelihood. Though there were demands on the card to close the plant for several years, the protests that were held in 2018 were rampant as the people staged demonstrations nearly for three months. While the protests entered the 100th day, they had seen the grounds of riots following which the police had opened the fire. 

The unanticipated police firing had killed 13 people including a student and the government claimed that anti-social elements had instigated the protests into violence due to which the police had fired. However, the police firing had stirred large-scale outrages across the state as the opposition parties and the general public had flayed the ruling government for buttering the Central ruling party and the corporates. 

The protests were rampant across the state following which the government had closed the copper plant. The shooting had also injured dozens of people and superstar Rajinikanth had gone to Thoothukudi at that time to meet the injured people and while speaking to the reporters, Rajinikanth said that anti-social elements had infiltrated the anti-Sterlite protests. The superstar actor has gone on to claim that he had evidence to prove his allegations. 

As the shooting had stirred outrage, the government has installed a single-judge commission under Justice Aruna Jegadeesan and the commission began its probe into the police firing on 13 civilians. It had issued subpoenas to the connected people in the incident and it also had summoned Rajinikanth to appear before the commission for inquiry over his claim of admitting that he has evidence to prove that anti-social elements had provoked the violence.

According to reports, Rajinikanth was issued two summons -February 2020 and December 2020 but he had failed to appear before the commission. In February 2020, he said that his arrival to Thoothukudi for the investigation can cause more inconvenience to the public. and he cited health issues and the COVID-19 pandemic for not appearing for the second summon. Earlier this year, the actor's counsel had filed an affidavit stating that Rajinikanth would appear before the panel through video conferencing by citing that most of the trials are being carried out virtually. 

Amid such development, Rajinikanth has now admitted that he has no evidence to prove his allegations that anti-social elements had instigated the violence during the anti-Sterlite protests. According to reports, the actor has moved his signed affidavit to the probing commission in which he has put out the fact. Speaking to a news agency, Vadivel Murugan, the counsel of the probing commission, said that Rajinikanth has submitted replies to a questionnaire given to him. 

The counsel said that Rajinikanth has signed the affidavit in which he said that the statement that he made at that time was not a planned one and he had answered questions when the media had asked him. He also had said that he has no proof to vindicate his charge that anti-social elements had infiltered the violence during the protests. In his affidavit, Rajinikanth had said that he had made the statement keeping in mind the welfare of the people. The counsel of the probing commission has said that the probing team wants some clarifications from Rajinikanth, which will be done after the pandemic. As Rajinikanth made a mega twist earlier by deciding not to enter politics three years after asserting to his fans that he will launch the party, his statements over Sterlite protests had become another twist in the tale.