Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and ITAK MP, M.A. Sumanthiran has called for the resignation of the party’s leader, R. Sampanthan, citing his age and poor attendance.
Sumanthiran noted that in a parliamentary year which consists of 288 days, Sampanthan is only present 39 days. This translates to an attendance rate of only 13.6 percent. Sumanthiran slammed this as a waste of taxpayers’ money.
Sumanthiran maintains that he had requested Sampanthan resign a years ago when it had become event that his health was declining but the TNA leader refused citing his electoral mandate.
Sampanthan has faced criticism from the Tamil Families of the Disappeared in the past for his statements about those who were forcibly disappeared. Last December, marking 2,126 days of consecutive protest, Families of the Disappeared in Vavuniya slammed his statement during the All Party Conference (APC). He is reported to have said, “we know you killed all disappearances”.