Friday, 11 October 2013 03:23
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TNA constituent EPRLF unhappy over ministerial choices
Wigneswaran calls on Councillors to put aside differences and work together
Govt. appoints EPDP Krish Kamalendhran as NPC Opposition Leader
By Dharisha Bastians
Northern Province Chief Minister Justice C.V. Wigneswaran formally named his provincial Board of Ministers for the recently elected Northern Provincial Council and expressed regret that the TNA could not accommodate all districts and party representatives in the list.
Issuing a media release yesterday, the TNA said the Chief Minister had appointed T. Kuruklarajah (ITAK-Kilinochchi) as the Provincial Minister of Education and Culture, P. Sathiyalingam as Provincial Health Minister, Dhaineswaran (TELO-Mannar) as Minister of Fisheries, Transport and Village Development and P. Aingaranesan (EPRLF – Jaffna) as Minister of Agriculture.
Chief Minister Wigneswaran himself will hold the portfolios of Administration, Police and Public Order, Finance, Lands, Human Rights, Planning, Post War Reconciliation and Provincial Housing and Construction.
The Chairman of the NPC will be C.V.K. Sivagnanam while Anton Jeyanathan has been named Deputy Chairman.
The Provincial Ministers of the Northern Council will take oaths before the Chief Minister in Jaffna today.
The Chief Minister said the new Ministers would be closely monitored to ensure they live up to expectations. Wigneswaran said he could not accommodate a representative from all-alliance members and all the districts in the north in the ministerial board.
He added that when a review of the Ministries is done in the future, priority would be given to a TNA member from the Mullaitivu District.
Wigneswaran called on the Council to place differences aside and work in the best interest of the public.
But EPRLF Leader and TNA MP Suresh Premachandran has criticised the new ministerial board, saying it was an ITAK board and not representative of the TNA. ITAK is the main constituent party of the alliance.
Premachandran said the EPRLF would meet separately last night to decide on whether to attend the oath-taking ceremony before Wigneswaran today. He said the EPRLF is unhappy that a member from the district of Mullaitivu was not appointed to the ministerial board. Meanwhile anger persists in parts of the North about Wigneswaran’s decision to take oaths before President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday. People in the Mullaitivu District had burned effigies of TNA Leader R. Sampanthan, National List MP M.A. Sumanthiran and Chief Minister Wigneswaran in the area on Wednesday in the region, media reports from the North said.
Meanwhile UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha has also appointed EPDP member Krish Kamalendhran Opposition Leader of the Northern Provincial Council.
The 38 seat Council will have 30 members from the TNA, including 14 from ITAK, 6 from EPRLF, 5 from TELO, 2 from PLOTE, 1 from the TULF, one from the Peoples Front For Good Governance and one independent candidate. Seven seats on the Council will be UPFA while the SLMC will also have one seat.
