Parliament pays tribute to late Minister Arumugam Thondaman

Saturday, 12 September 2020 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Arumugan Thondaman

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday led Parliament in paying tribute to late Minister Arumugam Thondaman during a Condolence Vote in the House.

Opening the Condolence Vote on late Thondaman in Parliament, the Prime Minister said the former Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) Leader was a man who stood against separatism and dedicated his life to uplifting the estate sector Tamils. “He (Thondaman) met me hours before his death, and what he discussed with me were the issues pertaining to estate sector Tamils.”

Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa said late Arumugam Thondaman’s grandfather, the late Minister Savumiamoorthy Thondaman, was a close friend of his father, late President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Premadasa said that Thondaman followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and worked to uplift the lives of people in the estate sector.

SJB MP and SLMC Leader Rauff Hakeem said late Arumugam Thondaman stood up with relentless courage for the welfare of his people. “On many occasions, he showed the maturity and abilities of his grandfather in trade union politics,” he said.

All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) Jaffna District MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran, EPDP Leader Douglas Devananda, and All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Leader Rishad Bathiudeen were among those who paid tribute to the late CWC leader.