The Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, this is a very important motion moved as an Adjournment Motion by Hon. Mano Ganesan and seconded by my brother Hon. Jeevan Thondaman. In fact, following the disenfranchisement of the upcountry people, the Ceylon Tamil Government Party was formed. In that context, as representatives of that community, we have every right to speak on this matter.

¶ 02 Someone said this is only a proposal. In my political life, this is the most foolish proposal I have heard. From a place where over 214,000 people reside, is it better to move a Divisional Secretariat 14–15 kilometres away due to lack of building facilities, or to construct a new building there itself? Truly, I have not heard such a foolish proposal in my life. I am glad that even an MP from the Vanni District spoke on this matter. At the same time, it is highly controversial that none from the ruling party representing the upcountry have spoken on this. This is a great surprise to me.

¶ 03 Even if I am in Batticaloa, at least my elder brother Chandrasekar should speak for his people when we talk about Norwood. You are trying to move this Divisional Secretariat to the upper floor of the Hatton railway station. But in this Budget, Rs. 7.7 billion has been allocated for railway-related expenditures. A sum of Rs. 100 million has been allocated merely to study whether a railway station can be built in Thambuththegama, the President’s own village. In such a situation, how much would it cost to construct a building for a Divisional Secretariat in the Norwood area? Is it better to build a new building for the Divisional Secretariat within six months and ease the lives of over 200,000 people there, or to move the Secretariat elsewhere for the needs of 110 employees? Do not forget that the upcountry people have been continually subjected to injustice in this country. Even their citizenship was taken away.

¶ 04 To alter the population composition of Nuwara Eliya District, you separated the Hanguranketha Divisional Secretariat from Kandy and attached it to Nuwara Eliya. If, in continuation, you move this Norwood Divisional Secretariat to Hatton town, remember that you too will be included among those who betrayed the upcountry people in history.

¶ 05 As brother Jeevan Thondaman said, there is no clear position regarding the wages of estate workers. The Employers’ Federation has stated there is no agreement on this. In one of the Hon. President’s speeches it was stated that the basic salary is Rs. 1,700.