Madurai: A 25-year-old member of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) set himself ablaze here on March 31 in protest against the proposed neutrino project at nearby Theni district, according to police.

The incident occurred shortly before MDMK party leader Vaiko was to start his 10-day ‘protest by foot’ to create ‘awareness’ on the impact of the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project on farmlands.

The party cadre, named only as Ravi, set himself on fire near the dais where Vaiko was addressing a gathering at a meeting in the city. The fire was doused and Ravi was rushed to a private hospital for treatment, police said.

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According to Deccan Chronicle,

While claiming he often counselled his cadres against attempting immolation for causes, [Vaiko] also listed the various followers who had died immolating themselves for one ‘cause’ or another in the past, starting with the five who had perished in flames when he launched his party…

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had recently granted an environmental clearance for the project.

M.K. Stalin, the working president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, had inaugurated the protest at Theni. Various parties in the state have been opposed to the INO and have demanded that the state government hold the clearance to be given by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

At a recent meeting of the party’s executive committee, the DMK adopted a resolution to ask the state government to approach the National Green Tribunal against the environmental clearance given to INO by the MoEFCC.

With inputs