‘Northern Province was deprived of development during former CM’s tenure’ – Ganeswaran Velayutham

The Northern Province did not see any tangible development under the five-year tenure of former Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran so much so that even a big chunk of the funds allocated by the Central government to improve peoples’ livelihoods remained unutilized, Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) Jaffna district Chief Candidate Ganeswaran Velayutham asserted.

“Funds which were meant for development to give the war affected people of the North a better tomorrow were not put to good use and a major part of it was returned as a result”, he said at a public meeting in Jaffna on Thursday.

He claimed that the former Chief Minister, instead of serving the people, who had gone through misery during the conflict, chose to consolidate his position.

Productive ideas of Provincial Council members were not given the attention they deserved, Velayutham charged. “Development suffered as a result of the absence of a collective approach to resolve peoples’ grievances”.

Hundreds of resolutions were passed in the Northern Provincial Council, but not a single of them was practically implemented, he further said.

Though the Board of Ministers was reshuffled, the then Chief Minister, who chaired the previous sessions, didn’t resign from his position. After completing his tenure, he launched a new political party, Velayutham recalled.

He appealed to the people of the North to vote wisely to defeat the former Chief Minister and the TNA spokesman, M. A. Sumanthiran at the August 5 General Election.