The Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, Hon. Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe, first go and resolve the issues of the teachers protesting against you; then we can look at the Provincial Councils. Go and solve those problems first. As to what the President said, what you said, and what is in your election manifesto on Provincial Councils, we told all of that to the President when we met him this afternoon. So, without being agitated, please sit down.

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, I do not know how the Provincial Councils Elections affect other regions or parties. For the party I represent and for us, these elections are extremely important.

¶ 03 We clearly campaigned in the North and East on your manifesto promise to hold elections within a year, and people gave you a certain mandate. Today, that mandate is being thrown away. I say this with deep regret.

¶ 04 Hon. Presiding Member, today I received a copy of the “Report submitted by the Minister under Parliamentary Standing Order No. 52(6) on the Private Members’ draft Bill submitted by Hon. Member of Parliament Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam.” Hon. Minister, please respond after my speech as I have limited time. My draft Bill was gazetted in May and taken up for First Reading in June. The Minister’s Report says the Legal Draftsman stated this is the same Bill that Hon. Sumanthiran presented in the previous Parliament and that certain Supreme Court directives were not included in my Bill, hence it cannot be taken up. That is absolutely untrue! When Hon. Sumanthiran submitted his Bill, it went before the Committee that considers Private Members’ Bills under the Standing Orders, and certain recommendations were made. Then his Bill was amended accordingly to comply with the Supreme Court’s Determination. When I submitted my Private Member’s Bill this time, we ensured all Supreme Court requirements were included. Hon. Minister, you do not have a backbone!

¶ 05 You are telling untruth to this Parliament and the people. Hon. Minister, just stay quiet! You do not know anything about this; you go to court and make a few quick bucks while in power. Do not try to comment on Provincial Councils Elections. You were opposed to it then; you seem opposed to it now. Do not try sugar-coated stories with me.

¶ 06 Sir, we respect the President. We met him today in his Office. The President clearly told us that the Provincial Councils Elections will be held. And, the President himself, in this Chamber, wanted the Opposition to bring in a law on that. This morning Hon. Gayanthe Karunathilaka said the Opposition agrees to bring the Bill I submitted. If you fear to bring that Bill, if you are unwilling, and if you have any backbone, Hon. Minister, what should you have done? From the very start of this Parliament, how many times did we question you on this? If you had a backbone, you should have appointed a Committee then and there to look into this. You hid for a year and played games. You are like Ranil Wickremesinghe. Appointing Committees to postpone elections is Ranil’s methodology. You look like Ranil’s follower to me. Aren’t you ashamed to appoint Committees to delay elections? Hon. Presiding Member, hold the Provincial Councils Elections.

¶ 07 When I met the President this afternoon, if I had seen this Report earlier, I would have told him this too. The Report says that without amending the 2017 Provincial Councils Elections law, my Private Member’s Bill cannot proceed. But my Bill specifically repeals the 2017 amendments and restores the old system – it is within the Bill itself. The Supreme Court has also addressed this. If there are political reasons to delay the elections, say so; we will accept it. But do not throw legal principles aside or appoint various Committees to dodge the Provincial Councils Elections. That is a low and despicable course of action. It was not we who said to hold the Provincial Councils Elections; it is in your own policy statement: “Prosperous Country – Beautiful Life.”

¶ 08 This Government is afraid to hold the Provincial Councils Elections. In the North and East today, your Government’s influence has evaporated with the Buddha statue issue. The President said yesterday, “It is a concluded matter; why talk about it?” As long as that statue remains at that location, it is not a concluded matter! For you, according to your program, placing a statue there may be a concluded matter. For us, as long as it remains there, for the Tamil-speaking people of the North and East, it stands as a racist, memory-evoking symbol of your Government. Every time people see it, it reminds them what to do with their democratic power. Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna already said yesterday: they told people not to eat with the right hand, but to eat with the left. There is no need to repeat it.

¶ 09 Hon. Presiding Member, my time is over? I will conclude.

¶ 10 Thus, Hon. Presiding Member, today the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi calls for a Division against the Budget Head of the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government for two reasons: first, against the failure to hold the Provincial Councils Elections; second, regarding the Kalmunai North Divisional Secretariat issue. Although the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and we may differ, for one year the Government has been creating confusion between Tamil and Muslim people over the Kalmunai North Divisional Secretariat. The Government said a committee would be appointed to inquire, but after a year, there is no committee, nothing. Tamil-speaking people in Kalmunai still live there. For these two reasons, ITAK calls for a Division against the allocations of the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government. Even if you hold the elections in the North and East today, you will be defeated! Even after six months, you will be defeated! Even after a year, you will be defeated! And even if you avoid holding the Provincial Councils Elections, you will be routed in the upcoming Parliamentary Elections. I state this publicly here. Thank you!