Call to remove Northern Province CM is not party opinion

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says that the call made by a member of the party to remove Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran from the party is not the entire opinion of the party.

Calls by Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran to remove C.V. Wigneswaran from the TNA and the post of the Northern Province Chief Minister is the opinion of one individual and not that of the entire party, TNA spokesman Suresh Premachandran said.

Premachandran noted that in fact, both the TNA and the people of the north fully backed Wigneswaran.

However, he cautioned that Wigneswaran also should remember that he was elected to the Chief Minister post as a representative of the party and not as an individual candidate.

The call for Wigneswaran’s removal from the TNA comes in the wake various comments made by the Chief Minister criticizing the party.

Some in TNA had also criticized MP Sumanthiran for allegedly betraying the Tamil prisoners’ struggle and backing a domestic mechanism proposed by the government to investigate war crimes during the war. He has been criticized for betraying the struggle of Tamil people in general.

Premachandran said that all constituent parties in the TNA had agreed to appoint Wigneswaran as the chief ministerial candidate and therefore any decision to remove him also should be taken in concurrence with all the parties.

The spokesman added that the matter would be discussed at TNA leaders meeting which is to be convened when MP Sumanthiran returns from his overseas trip. (Colombo Page)