28 January 2019 10:17 pm
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has not yet accepted the concept of a unitary state, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila said today.
“Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said recently that there was no draft constitution and that the TNA had accepted the concept of a unitary state. Unfortunately, the PM still attempts to deceive the nation. We pointed out that the phrase 'this constitution' can be found in the first page of the document tabled by him in the Constitutional Assembly,” he told a news briefing.
He said TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran was the author of the draft and that he admitted that the document was a draft constitution.
“Having a TV debate with us, he further said they were not ready to accept the concept of a unitary state. They accept ‘Aekiya Rajyaya’ after assigning their own definition. Hence, nobody can claim that the TNA has accepted the concept of a unitary state. We must be thankful for MPs Sampanthan and Sumanthiran for accepting the fact that the draft constitution is full of federal features,” he said. (Lahiru Pothmulla)