Pargat asks Mann to reject Dam Safety Act in special session

Jalandhar: Congress MLA Pargat Singh on Thursday asked CM Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab govt reject the Dam Safety Act when a special session of the Punjab assembly is convened to discuss the issue on Mondayu. He also asked the CM to call a meeting of experts for the effective defence of Punjab's rights. Additionally, he asked state govt to issue a white paper on the entire issue "so that the country could be told how Punjab is being discriminated against".
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Pargat pointed out that Mann was an MP when the Dam Safety Act was passed in the Lok Sabha in 2019, but he did not speak up against it even as it usurped the rights of states. "The act was passed in the Rajya Sabha in 2021, and after coming into power, his govt never said a word on it," Pargat said. "Now this act is being used against Punjab."
He mentioned that for two days, Mann was accusing BJP of forcing decisions on Punjab through BBMB, but on Thursday morning, Manish Sisodia started questioning Congress. "AAP is doing drama when their own leaders in the past openly spoke against the interests of Punjab," Pargat said and then played three old statements of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, former AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta, and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak. "What these AAP leaders said in the past is happening now," he added.
He claimed that Kejriwal's stand in the past rather strengthened the central govt's position on the issue. He is pushing the same line of excesses against Punjab, which were earlier done through the Punjab Reorganisation Act. He also praised Punjab officers for taking a firm and clear stand in the BBMB meetings, but questioned the political establishment.
He also said sections 78, 79, and 80 of Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, which went against Punjab, should also be discussed and challenged, and any weakness left in the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004, should be fixed.