The Presidential candidate of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People's Power (NPP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake called on independent Presidential candidate President Ranil Wickremesinghe to apologise to the people of the Northern Province following allegations from Wickremesinghe that Dissanayake has incited racism.
Addressing the National Convention of the Inter Company Employees' Union (ICEU) yesterday (08), Dissanayake criticised recent comments made by President Wickremesinghe regarding his comments delivered while in Jaffna recently.
Dissanayake responded to Wickremesinghe's allegations by stressing that his statements had been misinterpreted. He accused President Wickremesinghe of attempting to incite racial tensions during the election.
Dissanayake expressed his gratitude towards Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran for providing a correct response to the President’s claims.
“My speech has been misinterpreted. Ranil is attempting to incite racism in this election. I must be thankful to M.A. Sumanthiran for his accurate response to the President. I urge him (Wickremesinghe) to apologise now,” Dissanayake stated.
The President had challenged Dissanayake to apologise to the Northern people, accusing him of exerting undue influence on them. Wickremesinghe also suggested that Dissanayake should apologise to both the Tamil people of the North and the people of the South for remarks made during a recent visit to the region.
President Wickremesinghe has asserted that under his leadership, the people of the North will be fully protected by the law. The ongoing exchange highlights the heightened political tensions and differing views on ethnic relations in Sri Lanka as the election approaches.
