Post Nirmala snub, AIADMK unlikely to vote for Dam Bill

AIADMK MP SR Vijayakumar, who raised the issue in Parliament, demanded that the Bill should not be tabled for approval. He raised the issue during the Zero Hour and said the Bill infringes on the rights of Tamil Nadu. Some of the dams belonging to Tamil Nadu are situated in neighbouring states. The Dam Safety Bill would create problems for Tamil Nadu in maintenance of such dams besides causing difficulties in operation of the said dams.

Vijayakumar, who spoke on the subject a few days ago, pointed out that Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed a resolution opposing the Dam Safety Bill and demanded that it should be temporarily stalled. The Union government should consult the state governments over the Bill, he said and added that it should be considered by the Centre only after a consensus is arrived among the states.

After voting for the BJP government in the no-confidence motion, it was expected that the AIADMK and BJP would slowly move towards an electoral alliance for the Lok Sabha elections. But, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s refusal to meet Panneerselvam had come as a shock for the supporters of the Deputy Chief Minister, who had openly started criticising the Union Minister’s action. 

Tamil Development Minister K Pandiarajan, considered close to Panneerselvam, in an interview to a television channel openly condemned Nirmala Sitharaman’s behaviour. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is not considered close to the BJP leadership.

Even during the no-confidence motion against the BJP, the leadership had a tough time persuading the AIADMK MPs to vote in support of the Union government. Immediately after voting, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai had said, voting for the BJP government in the no-confidence motion was not a precursor to alliance with the saffron party. 

However, the AIADMK functionaries denied that the party had decided to oppose the BJP in Parliament. One of the functionaries pointed out that the Chief Minister had already written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the Bill. Even during the meeting of party MPs and functionaries, it was decided that the AIADMK should oppose whatever action that would go against the interests of Tamil Nadu, he added.