CM Stalin opposes Dam Safety Bill

Chennai: Chief Minister M K Stalin strongly hit out at the Union Government for bringing in the Dam Safety Bill in Parliament, saying that it went against federalism, infringed on the rights of the States and posed a threat to democracy.

The Bill, passed with the help of the ruling party’s brute majority in Parliament, was a dictatorial act that would go against the cordial relationship between the Union and State government, Stalin said in a statement on Friday.

The DMK, even when it was in the opposition benches in the State Assembly supported a resolution against the then proposed Bill and when the Bill was moved in Parliament, DMK MP A Raja had vehemently protested against it, Stalin said.

Even when the Bill was moved in the Rajya Sabha, DMK member, Trichy Siva, had spoken against it, saying that the Act would take the States’ powers and hand it all over to the Union Government, the Chief Minister said.

He also recalled the arguments put up by DMK MP T K S Elangovan in the House, saying that more than the safety of dams, the safety of the States’ powers were important.