Mano Ganesan urges Sajith Premadasa to defend minority rights

Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader Mano Ganesan has called on Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa to defend the rights and dignity of Tamil and Muslim communities within the party.

Ganesan expressed deep disappointment in a letter to Premadasa regarding remarks reportedly made by senior SJB member Lakshman Kiriella during a meeting with religious leadership in Kandy. Kiriella allegedly suggested that the government was using controversies involving Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero to appease Tamil-speaking citizens and communities outside the Sinhala-Buddhist majority. Ganesan also criticized the reported use of outdated terminology to describe minority groups, warning that such language reinforces divisive narratives.

While Ganesan noted that disagreements regarding the legal proceedings or prison conditions of Gnanasara Thero should not justify marginalizing minority citizens, he emphasized that the values of inclusivity and equal treatment must be upheld by the SJB leadership to maintain the trust of the multi-ethnic opposition alliance.