The Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) has demanded the immediate resignation of all Tamil members of the National People’s Power (NPP), including Trincomalee District MP and Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra, following the government’s handling of a Buddha statue installation in Trincomalee.
A tense situation arose on Tuesday night when a group attempted to place a Buddha statue at a Dhamma school within a temple in the area. Police were deployed to defuse the situation, and the statue was subsequently removed on the instructions of Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala.
However, in an ‘X’ post, ITAK General Secretary M.A. Sumanthiran accused the government of capitulating to “majoritarian pressures,” saying initial hopes that the statue’s removal signalled impartial governance were quickly dashed.
The party said Minister Wijepala’s announcement in Parliament—that the statue was taken down solely due to security concerns and would be reinstalled—exposed the administration’s true intentions.
“The NPP government stands exposed as a racist, Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist force, no different from those before it,” the statement said, adding that the minister’s remarks had undermined the government’s earlier pledges of equality.
ITAK said the NPP’s Tamil representatives could no longer remain in the government under such circumstances and urged them to resign immediately in protest.