Electricity amendment bill attack on constitutional rights of states: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said the Centre introducing the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 in Parliament was an attack on the constitutional rights of the statesHe accused the Union government of weakening the foundations of the federal structure through such nefarious designsThe Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 to allow nondiscriminatory open access to distribution networks of power suppliers was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Centre on Monday amid protests by the opposition which claimed that it seeks to take away certain rights of state governmentsMann said it was another attempt of the central government to undermine the authority of the statesHe said the Centre should not consider the states as puppetsThe states will not sit silently against this attempt of the government of India to dilute the federal spirit of our democracy Mann said in a statement issuedHe said the states will fight from the road to Parliament to protect their rightsThe Union government should have consulted the states before introducing any bill related to the power sector the Punjab chief minister saidInstead this Bill is being imposed on the states which is a direct attack on the federal structure he chargedQuestioning the Centres intent Mann said when the states provide electricity to people on their own then why their feedback was not sought while introducing the bill in ParliamentCiting the example of Punjab he said farmers in the state are being given free electricity for agriculture purposesLikewise free power supply is also being provided to domestic consumers and if the Centre is amending the Electricity Act as per its own conditions the farmers and other sections will get a big blow as states like Punjab will not be able to continue such propeople initiatives he saidMann said the Centre should desist from playing with fireIt should not repeat the previous mistake of implementing the three draconian agricultural laws he addedMann asked the Union government to reconsider its move as the people of the country will never tolerate such unilateral decisionsHe demanded that the central government should take feedback from the states before enacting any law in the power sectorOn Sunday Shiromani Akali Dal SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 to allow for widespread consultation with all stakeholders including the states farmers and farm unionsHe had said when the central government decided to repeal the three farm laws on December 9 2021 it had assured that it would not go ahead with enacting the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022 without holding prior consultation with all stakeholders including the states political parties farmers and farmer associationsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever