Politicos with ulterior motives hard at work – Devananda

Self-centered anti-government TNA parliamentarians including several other political parties are planning to create unrest between the public and university students which will not only affect the country's development, but also have disastrous consequences on undergraduates' education, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda said.

The minister said so at a discussion with non-academic staff of Jaffna University at his office in Jaffna.

Devananda said the disturbing situation that cropped up at the Jaffna University recently and the subsequent fallout, disrupted the university's educational activities.

The minister said because of anti-social activities committed by these leaders with vicious political agendas, the public in general and students in particular, were at risk.

“The government was reluctantly compelled to deploy the Army around the university in the past few weeks as a preventive measure to contain any anticipated violence, but later removed the Army after having assessed the situation,” Devananda said.

He said steering the country towards prosperity by strengthening inter-racial peace and reconciliation was the government's sole aim.

“However much the task would prove to be difficult, the government was firm to adhere to this course of action,” the minister said.

Explaining the developmental activities being carried out by the government in the North, Devanada said the earning capacity of the people of the North had considerably improved and the opponents having realised that the people couldn’t be further cheated, were engaged in these despicable acts of provocation.

The minister assured the non-academic staff of Jaffna University that their problems would be sorted soon.