Sumanthiran mistakes Sri Lankan for Chinese worker

By Dinasena Ratugamage

Jaffna District Development Committee yesterday denied allegations levelled by TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran that Chinese nationals were engaged in road construction work in the North.

Head of the Development Committee, MP Angajan Ramanathan said that the TNA MP had posted a photo of a construction worker on social media claiming that he was a Chinese national. However, the person in the photo was a Sri Lankan Muslim living in Batticaloa.

“I will also release the photo and identification documents of the person the TNA MP alleges is a Chinese national. MP Sumanthiran continuously alleges on Twitter that Chinese nationals are employed at various construction sites in the North, this time he has made a specific allegation and he has got it wrong,” MP Ramanathan said.

The Head of the Development Committee added that the TNA was engaging in xenophobic propaganda and inciting hatred against a particular group always ends up with disastrous consequences.

After the Development Committee made that statement the TNA MP, on Twitter, admitted that he had made an error and deleted his tweet.