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Newly sworn in Chief Minister of the Northern Province CV Wigneswaran and other TNA members who have been appointed to the Northern Provincial Council took their oaths in Jaffna, at the Veerasingham Hall earlier today.
Several TNA members from constituent parties chose to boycott the ceremony.
The event began with an honouring of the fallen maaveerar, or Tamil heroes, after paying tribute at the memorial site of SJV Chelvanayagam in Jaffna.
Accompanying them on stage was the leader of the Tamil National Alliance, R Sampanthan, who alongside Wigneswaran was crowned by supporters.
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Earlier this week, Colombo Telegraph reported that effigies of Wigneswaran and Sampanthan were burnt in Mullaitivu, following widespread anger at Wigneswaran’s decision to take oaths before Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
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Amongst those who criticised Wigneswaran and Sampanthan was TNA candidate Ananthi Sasitharan who slammed the move as “a betrayal of the people who voted for TNA".
The TNA also announced the details of portfolios within the Northern Provincial Council. Sasitharan, who polled the second highest number of preferential votes in the recently held elections, was appointed Councillor for ‘Rehabilitation of Destitute Persons and families, Rehabilitation and Welfare of physically, mentally and socially handicapped persons, Relief of the Disabled and unemployables’.
It was noted that her “focus will be on social aspects and Special emphasis on War affected women and Female Headed Households, Children and Elders & Gender Mainstreaming”.
She will be required to report to newly appointed Chief Minister Wigneswaran.
See the full of portfolios from TamilNet here.
Exiled Tamil journalist J.S Tissainayagam had earlier written,
"The TNA has to provide substantide, credible answers that might allay public outrage."
In our editorial we wrote,
"This election was not a vote for the TNA. Quite the reverse, the Tamil people's thumping endorsement of the party's electoral campaign, was a clear rejection of the politics of its leadership."