BADULLA RESIDENTS, PARENTS PROTEST AGAINST CM

Forcing school principal to kneel down

Residents and parents of Badulla yesterday staged a protest in Badulla town against Uva Province Chief Minister Chamara Sampath Dassanayake who had allegedly forced the Principal of the Badulla Tamil School to kneel down before him.

They accused the Secretary to the Provincial Ministry of Education and the Provincial Director of Education for attempting to safeguard the CM. The protest was organised by the School Development Society and several other organizations. The protestors who gathered opposite the Tamil Balika Vidyalaya marched through Lower Street, Viharagoda Bank Road, Welibodhiya and staged the protest in front of the Provincial Council secretariat. Anti-riot Squads were deployed to beef up security in the area to prevent any possible incident of violence.

District Parliamentarian Aravinda Kumar, Provincial Council Members Jayantha Kannangara, M. Sachithanandan and several candidates contesting the local government election joined the protestors.

A similar protest organised by the Ceylon Teachers’ Union was held in Anuradhapura town with the participation of teachers of the area, including a teacher attached to the Navodya Vidyalaya Sriyani Susila Herath who had to kneel down before a former UPFA Member of the North Western Provincial Council in 2013.

President of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union Priyantha Fernando who joined the protest said that they would organize a massive campaign with the participation of teachers all over the country demanding action against the Uva Province Chief Minister.