By Arun Lakshman Chennai, Dec 5, : The statement by M.K., Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu DMK, President of the DMK.Stalin’s Friday statement that the Centre had used its brute majority to pass the Dam Safety Bill was considered a new front in Tamil Nadu against Union government policy.
The DMK government in Tamil Nadu had earlier come out strongly against the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and had even appointed a commission to study the ‘flaws’ in the national examination for selection of students to MBBS and allied courses in the country.
The DMK is pursuing the Dam Safety Bill in a similar fashion.
Stalin openly stated that even the AIADMK supported the demand of TKS Elangovan (DMK MP), that the bill be sent only to a select committee.
Stalin claimed that the Centre’s BJP government did not comply with the demand of the DMK leaders.
He ruthlessly passed Bill without referring to the select committee, which he called murder of democracy.
Tiruchi Siva (DMK MP), had stated that the Bill would violate the basic rights and powers vested in the state government while speaking to the Parliament during the discussion on the Dam Safety Bill.
The leader of the DMK also stated that the Bill violated Article 252-1 of Constitution and that the country’s protection of state power has become a question mark.
The statements made by Stalin and the DMK parliamentarians are clear indicators that the party will move politically in the State against the Central government over Dam Safety Bill.
It will also get the support from all political parties in the State, with the possible exception of the Tamil Nadu unit.
It is worth noting that the Central government presented the Dam Safety Bill 2018, 2018.
There are 5,200 large dams across the country, while 450 are under construction.
Tamil Nadu’s political parties are against the Bill because they claim it contains clauses that violate state rights, particularly with respect to dams such as Mullaperiyar.
This dam is located in Kerala, but managed and maintained by Tamil Nadu.
Other dams were also built by Tamil Nadu in different states.
The main concern is to preserve its control over them.
In 2016, J.Jayalalithaa (AIADMK leader, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu), raised concerns about the clause regarding the National Dam Safety Authority.
The Dam Safety Bill, which was passed by both Houses of Parliament, will lead to the creation of a National Committee on Dam Safety.It will have a three-year term.The Chairman of the Central Water Commission will be the committee’s representative.There will be a maximum of 10 representatives of the Central government at the rank of joint secretaries, seven representatives from the states governments, and three experts.
It is interesting to note that most dams in India are built and maintained by states.
During Thursday’s discussion on the Bill, MDMK MP Vaiko also voiced his strong reservations against the Bill.
He stated that the Dam Safety Bill would not protect dams but will instead lead to major disasters which Tamil Nadu will suffer.
He stated that states like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh are throttling Tamil Nadu’s neck and that if the Dam Safety Bill was passed, Tamil Nadu will be the only state that would be adversely affected.
Vaiko stated in the speech (a copy of which was made public) that all the neighboring states were proposing new dams, and that this would indirectly impact the water sources for Tamil Nadu.
During the tenure of the previous AIADMK government, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had also passed a unanimous resolution against the passing the Dam Safety Bill.It claimed that it would cause unrest in the state.
The situation could get out of control quickly with the opposition to the Dam Safety Bill coming from political parties like DMK or MDMK.
The fact that the main opposition, AIADMK is also against the Bill’s passage is a boon for the DMK.Jayalalithaa had expressed concern about the Dam Safety Bill.
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Padmanabhan (Director, Socio Economic Development Foundation), a think-tank based in Madurai, stated to IANS that the Dam Safety Bill was passed in an urgent manner in the Parliament without proper consultation with the state government.This decision will affect Tamil Nadu.
As Vaiko rightly pointed, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are each throttling Tamil Nadu.The Centre cannot pass a Bill without consulting the state governments.
IANS was told by a senior leader of AIADMK that the Bill had been opposed by the AIADMK because Tamil Nadu’s interests were not being taken care of.Jayalalithaa had warned the commission that the Bill would be detrimental to the state’s interests.We may even join forces with the DMK to fight this.”
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