by Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Island

The Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) yesterday (03) dismissed Sarvajana Balaya claim that it had reached a post-general election understanding with the NPP government on the setting up of a federal structure in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and the inclusion of ITAK frontliner M. A. Sumanthiran, PC, in President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s cabinet as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

A senior party spokesperson said so when The Island sought the ITAK response to Sarvajana Balaya Colombo District candidate Udaya Gammanpila’s recent accusations regarding a clandestine agreement between the two parties. We wouldn’t have responded to Gammanpila’s baseless claim on our own,” the official said, alleging that this was nothing but the former Minister’s figment of imagination.

Sumanthiran is contesting Jaffna on the ITAK list under the ‘House’ symbol.

Attorney-at-law Gammanpila also alleged that the government had reinstated SSP Shani Abeysekera and brought in retired Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne as Secretary to the Public Security Ministry to kick-start investigations in terms of the Geneva accountability resolution adopted in 2015.

Another ITAK source pointed out that they had not accepted ministerial portfolios during the Yahapalanaya administration (2015-2019) though it backed the government. Obviously, a blatant lie was being propagated ahead of the General Election scheduled to be held in less than two weeks,”

he said. In fact, at every national election since the end of the war in May 2009, various interested parties alleged secret agreements between the ITAK and the party in power, the ITAK source said.ITAK is contesting on its own in Jaffna, Vanni, Batticaloa and Digamadulla districts whereas ITAK and Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA) fielded a joint team in Trincomalee. The DTNA consists of former ITAK-led TNA members EPRLF, TELO and PLOTE. DTNA is in the fray under the Conch’ symbol.

ITAK sources said such unsubstantiated allegations wouldn’t have a negative impact on their election

Parliament consists of 196 elected and 29 appointed members. ITAK sources said they were confident of securing the majority of seats from the five northern and eastern electoral districts. Of the 29 elected from Jaffna (07), Vanni (06), Batticaloa (5), Digamadulla (07) and Trincomalee (04), we would definitely have the majority, they said.

In the last Parliament, five Tamil political parties shared 16 seats, including National List slots with the ITAK-led TNA having 10 seats.

Gammanpila accused the NPP of having reached a secret understanding with the ITAK in the wake of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake meeting S. Sritharan of the ITAK and EPDP’s Douglas Devananda.

President Dissanayake is on record as having said that after the NPP’s triumph in the presidential election Tamil political parties were under pressure from voters to work with the government.