Minister softens stand on Subansiri dam, says talk first

A day after he advocated resumption of work of the stalled Subansiri hydro power project, Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Vijay Kumar Singh today said construction should resume after consultation with agitators.
"Nothing will be done without consulting people. That is the Bhartiya Janata Party stand and we stand by that," Singh said on the sidelines of IIT-Guwahati convocation here.
He was responding to a query about protests since this morning in front of his accommodation on account of his statement yesterday supporting construction of the dam.
Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti members held demonstration since 5 am today and later a delegation met Singh to apprise him of the reasons behind their opposition to the dam.

Singh had yesterday said most of the protests against the project were "unjustified" and were driven by "propaganda".
"We have problems of power in Assam. We are aware of the protests of Subansiri project -- some are justified, majority are not justified... Why should there be any problem?" he had said at the National Cold Chain Summit here yesterday.
"I know who these protesters are. I know the groups and their propaganda very well. So our only job is to convince them that the dam is safe and beneficial for Assam," he had said.
When reminded that BJP had opposed the construction of Subansiri dam before the Lok Sabha elections, Singh had said, "I am not aware of BJP's stand. I do not know what BJP's stand was. Subansiri project is also not a big dam.