President has proposed a government of Sinhala Buddhists by Sinhala Buddhists for Sinhala Buddhists – MP Wigneswaran

by Saman Indrajith

Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani (TMTK) Jaffna District MP CV Wigneswaran told Parliament on Friday that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s policy statement proposed a government of the Sinhala Buddhists by Sinhala Buddhists for the Sinhala Buddhists.

Participating in the debate on the policy statement Wigneswaran said: “I carry no isms that conditions or motivates me. I have no prejudices against the president on party lines or racial lines. My sole purpose in participating in this debate is to examine the effect the policy statement might have on the people of the North and East.

There is no reference to the decades old problems of the Tamil speaking denizens of the North and East. The North and East whilst being part of Sri Lanka is majority Tamil speaking. It would have been ideal if his Excellency would have had adopted a holistic attitude towards the island keeping in mind the necessity to view the problems of the periphery from the standpoint of subsidiarity.

Nevertheless, let me refer to some of the salient features of the policy statement which we agree with since they form the substratum of the policies of the TMTK which I represent today.  

Firstly, referring to the part of the statement which says the prime responsibility of a people’s representative is to serve the public and I am glad that his Excellency considers our positions as responsibilities and not privileges. That is our view too. Secondly, we are also in total agreement with him that jobs should not be distributed but generated. the generation of job opportunities is the need of the hour. Thirdly, we agree that our basic aim should be to strengthen the local economy and encourage local entrepreneurs to introduce modern technology to increase value addition and the urgent need for organic farming etc.

MP Wigneswaran also appreciated the State Ministers being given monetary provisions to carry development projects. “We fully agree with the steps taken to eradicate waste in all ministries and state institutions.”

Referring to the statement by the president that he would not betray the trust placed in him by his voters, Wigneswaran said that was a commendable sentiment but while carrying out his responsibilities he must be aware of the checks and balances placed on him by law and social expectations. Hence, he said that as India was partly responsible for introducing the 13th Amendment. India should be party to any attempt to change the 13th Amendment. “He cannot do away with the 13th Amendment arbitrarily,” Wigneswaran said.