Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday informed the Legislative Assembly that the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937, will be amended to make punishments stringent. He was replying to queries raised by the MLAs on the Kallakurichi spurious liquor tragedy, which had claimed the lives of 65 people.
K. Marimuthu of the CPI said Collectors and Superintendents of Police should be held accountable for illicit arrack tragedies. A law should be enacted making them responsible with punishments like transfer or suspension. He appreciated the swift action taken by Mr. Stalin in arresting the prime accused in the case and extending ex-gratia to the affected families.
G.K. Mani of the Pattali Makkal Katchi said the accused persons arrested on charges of drug peddling or illicit arrack brewing were released from prisons and returned to the illegal activities. He said sale of drugs and spurious liquor packets was on in the vicinity of Tasmac liquor shops, and the business could not thrive without the knowledge of the police.
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Nainar Nagenthran of the Bharatiya Janata Party said the Kallakurichi tragedy could have been avoided had the intelligence machinery been strong. He said tough laws should be brought in force to prevent candidates seeking votes in the name of caste or religion.
The Tamil Nadu government should take steps to crack down on cyber crime with an iron fist. With technologies like artificial intelligence, offences involving video morphing and other frauds were rampant on social media.
Besides stringent laws, awareness should be created among people regarding the many threats in cyber space, Mr. Nagenthran said.
K. Selvaperunthagai of the Congress said while the country had achieved political democracy, there was an urgent need to strive for social democracy. M. Chinnathurai of the CPI(M) said all cases registered against protestors of hydrocarbon extraction should be withdrawn.
Many MLAs who spoke appealed to the Chief Minister to bring the police force under the old pension scheme and implement orders to give time-bound promotions, better salaries, enhanced allowances, regularisation of sanitary workers engaged by the department, weekly off for all personnel, abolition of the orderly system, and separate rest room facilities for women police personnel in police stations and other establishments.
