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Even though it is unlikely that Provincial Council elections will be held this year, Northern Tamil parties are proposing various names for the post of Chief Minister.

Parliamentarian and former Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran came up with what appeared to be a wild card, proposing a Hindu priest called Velan Swamigal, opposing the candidacy of Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) Leader Mavai Senathirajah.

The priest who broke away from another Hindu outfit before forming his own group and is relatively a new figure in Tamil national politics, though he took part in a recent protest march from Pottuvil to Polikandy.

Other parties rejected the idea of a Hindu priest, and stressed that the individual should be fit to hold the office with necessary administrative and political skills unlike the previous Chief Minister.

Hearing about the pick of the former CM, a local market trader was heard saying it was fortunate that another convicted, controversial self-styled “godman” Premananda was no longer alive since he also might have been named as a candidate.

After all, the trader noted it was the same retired Supreme Court Justice who wrote to Indian Premier Narendra Modi in 2015 seeking the release of four convicts of an infamous case of rape and murder, popularly called the Premananda case in Tamil Nadu.

Former Air Force Chief as envoy to Rome

The Sri Lanka Air Force’s Former Commander Air Marshal Sumangala Dias has been nominated to become Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Italy.

Foreign Ministry officials said yesterday his appointment letter has been sent to the Foreign Office in Rome.

He was earlier named to be Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Canada. However, the Ottawa government has not confirmed the acceptance of his nomination.

Devananda continues to fish in troubled waters

Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda, who showed a soft corner for the Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters, this week went still further by saying that people living in the North should have a sense of gratitude to the Indians.

During a television interview he said those in the North should not forget how the Tamil Nadu Government and people received tens of thousands of Sri Lankans fleeing the North during the war.

“We should not forget how the Sri Lankans were treated as own brothers and sisters,” he said.

Mr Devananda also said that India brought pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to introduce the 13th Amendment hoping it would help to resolve the ethnic crisis.

The Minister’s remarks came in the wake of his previous comments that he was considering a licencing system for the Indian fishermen to fish in Sri Lankan waters.

The Minister was asked “when people are robbing your place do you go and give them licences?”

Minister Devananda posed a question back to the TV reporter asking; “What happens if the rouges have entered your house with heavy weapons. Do you go to fight them?”

Was the one-time gun toting Minister hinting that Sri Lanka was now under pressure to give in?

Thondaman apologises for using derogatory word against women

In this highly digitalised world, politicians need to be more careful of what they say, where and to whom they say it since most people are armed with smartphones recording something.

The latest politician to be involved in such controversy is young Parliamentarian Jeevan Thondaman of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC).

Following the sudden death of his father Arumugam Thondaman last year, his son Jeevan took over the party leadership and entered Parliament.

Addressing a pocket meeting recently in a tea plantation over the much politicised topic of Rs 1000 as a basic daily wage for plantation workers, he alleged some hillcountry Opposition politicians work closely with the management of plantation companies to prevent the basic wage increase from being implemented.

While addressing them in Tamil, he used a sensitive derogatory word involving women. Someone who took part in the meeting recorded his speech and leaked it on social media sites, and the clips went viral overnight. The young Mr Thondaman was accused of humiliating women.

Later Mr Thondaman had to release another video statement regretting his usage of slur words when addressing the rally. He said he was angry with the elements that working to deny a decent basic wage to plantation workers.