Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K.S. Alagiri on Wednesday said the AIADMK government should ensure the Centre withdraws the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and asked farmers in the State to be vigilant.
In a statement, Mr. Alagiri said though Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that the amendments to the Electricity Act cannot be accepted, he said the same fate will befall the current letter like the earlier letters on various issues. “The AIADMK government does not have the courage to oppose or stop this [bill],” he charged.
Mr. Alagiri said farmers have been getting free electricity in the State for the last 30 years and this right cannot be snatched away by the Centre. He said the AIADMK government must ensure that it takes strong steps to get the Centre to withdraw the Bill. “If the Central government tries to push through the Bill, the Congress will hold a massive public protest in the State,” he said.