Now East gets ready for Ezhuga Thamil to push for federal unit TN won’t back the move

Barely three months after the Ezhuga Thamil (‘Rise up Tamils’) rally in the North, which caused an uproar in political circles, arrangements are being made for holding a sequel thereto in the East. Members of the Tamil People’s Council (TPC), which claims that the inaugural rally in Jaffna on Sept. 24 was a huge success, were confident that the eastern rally will attract more crowds and have a bigger impact. It says it will overcome all obstacles in its path to make its rally a success.

Although Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan and the TNA will not back the move, the TPC, which has Northern Chief Minister C. V. Wigneshwaran and Jaffna-based cardiologist P. Lakshman as co-chairs, has thrown its weight behind the organisers of "Ezhuga Thamil" rally in the East. Sources said they would decide on a date shortly. Political observers in the East said the TPC believed that only a full-fledged federal unit would help meet the aspirations of the Tamil people and any other arrangement would fall short of being a viable solution to the national question. It has vowed to do its utmost to carve out a federal set-up by mobilising the Tamil people in the North and the East. Sources said the TPC had spelt out its objectives in its proposals submitted to the committee which sought views of the public and political outfits on the proposed constitution. The TPC, formed in December 2015, and is supported by the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) of G. Ponnambalam, People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) of D. Sidtharthan, the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) led by Suresh Premachandran and a number of civil organisations in the North and East.