The striking workers of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) were attacked by a group of thugs and the Police gave protection to the thugs, Chief Opposition Whip and JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake complained.
The MP also charged that the Welikada OIC had assaulted a trade unionist in police custody: “We demand the Government and the IGP to take action against this. An investigation into the Welikada OIC must be conducted after arresting him,” he said.
The MP, participating in the Parliamentary debate today asked Prime Minster Ranil Wickremesinghe to state in the House whether he condones the attack by thugs on striking workers while the Police look on.
“Wickremesinghe often talks about the democracy and UK Parliament as if he is the ‘father of democracy’. We would like to hear his position with regard to the incident on Wednesday,” he said.
“This is the first adverse strike against this Government. The Government used thugs armed with rods and swords to suppress it. If this is the way the Government is dealing with the people’s problems, we vow to prepare the people to face it,” he said.