National Workers’ Union leader, MP P. Digambaram today vowed to teach Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) leader and Minister Arumugam Thondaman a “lesson” through the people’s votes at the upcoming election, following yesterday’s clashes between supporters of the two ruling coalition parties.
Supporters of the CWC and NWU, which are both contesting the Provincial Council polls under the UPFA, clashed in Commercial Junction in Kotagala yesterday leaving several of them injured and damaging more than 10 vehicles.
In response a group of CWC supporters had reportedly stormed Digambaram’s main office in Hatton last night and ransacked the entire place.
“We (NWU) will not drop this, we will not runaway in fear of him (Thondaman) and we will teach him a lesson from votes,” Digambaram told reporters, at press conference in Colombo today.
The UPFA parliamentarians assured that all three NWU candidates contesting for the Central Provincial Council will “definitely win.”
He charged that the Minister of Livestock and Rural Community Development engages in “political thuggery” such attacking campaign offices in the night and pointed out that although his party could attack during daytime they will never do so.
“We are all people who have come from estates and we know the problems faced by the estate people,” Digambaram said.
He claimed that Minister Thondaman does not know the grievances of the estate workers as he came from India and that he is using police powers, ministerial powers to enact “dramas”.
The Nuwara Eliya District MP challenged Minister Thondaman to face him personally without hurting innocent people.
He claimed that the Thondaman’s biggest problem now is that his party will have no MPs in the future as parliamentarian P. Rajadurai had recently resigned from the Ceylon Workers’ Congress and joined the National Workers’ Union.
Digambaram said that Thondaman is resorting to such acts of thuggery in fear and that he is using liquor and food to gain supports, which he claims currently totals to around 150.
“Thondaman should stop this kind of politics, or I will stop it for him,” he said.
