Dullas flays Govt, TNA over failure to hold PC polls

United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Dullas Alahapperuma today (28) severely criticized the Government for continuing to delay the PC elections for over 1 ½ years and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) for its seeming reluctance to raise the matter more forcefully.

By Sandun Jayawardana
Opening the Parliamentary debate on the Expenditure Head of the Ministry of Internal & Home Affairs and Provincial Councils & Local Government, the MP observed that the debate was being held on an occasion when for the first time in history, PC elections had been postponed indefinitely,

Mr Alahapperuma noted that holding a debate on the Ministry of Provincial Councils was useless unless concrete steps were taken to allow people to democratically elect their representatives to those PCs and allow them to function properly.   

Of the three remaining PCs that are still functioning, he pointed out that the Southern PC will become inactive in 12 days once its term expires, while the Western PC will become inactive in 24 days. “No one knows when PC elections will be held. Not even the President, Prime Minister or Parliament.”

Mr Alahapperuma said the silence of the TNA on this issue was especially concerning given that the PCs were established under the 13^th Amendment with the aim of making the Tamil people a stakeholder in the political process. It is now 1 ½ years since the Eastern PC was dissolved while it is five months now since the Northern PC was dissolved, he pointed out. “If this was done under Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidency, the TNA would have labeled him a dictator,” he quipped.