BY ANANTH PALAKIDNAR
Minister of Public Security Rear Admiral (Retd) Sarath Weerasekera lambasted the Provincial Council system in the country and added that the Northern Provincial Council was a failure with the former Northern Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran even returning half of the money to the Treasury that was allocated to administer the Northern Provincial Council.
The Minister opened two new police stations at Maruthankerni and Mallavi in the Northern province on Friday (March 2). Minister of Fisheries and Jaffna district EPDP Parliamentarian Douglas Devananda also accompanied Minister Weerasekera.
Minister Weerasekera told the press later that he was not against Tamils in the country but he felt that the Provincial Council system was not suitable for a country such as Sri Lanka where all nine provinces will have nine different administrations that will ridicule the Central Government. He barely did anything for the Northerners. Half the amount of money allocated to the Northern Provincial Council was sent back to the Treasury by Wigneswaran.
“The Provincial Council in the North has failed to function for the past three years and therefore, development in the North had been neglected.
I am not for the Provincial Council system which was forcibly introduced to us by India. I believe the Government in the centre must be effective in the country instead of having separate administrations in the provinces.
However, people in the North prefer the Provincial Council system for political reasons.
Whereas, I am not for it, and if the Government decides to go ahead with it, I will, however, not oppose it,” Minister Admiral Sarath Weerasekera said.
Referring to the law and order in the North, Minister Weerasekera said that a new police station would be set up in Punkudutivu in Jaffna as well.
He said that at present there are 494 police stations in the country and another 190 new police stations will be set up throughout the island.
Minister Weerasekera also elaborated on providing livelihood assistance to the youth in the North.
He said, ”The Provincial Council system was forcibly introduced to us by India.
“I vehemently oppose the Provincial Council system in the country.
“The Northern Provincial Council led by former
Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran was a failure in the North,” he said.
Source: sundayobserver.lk