Weerawansa facing disciplinary inquiry, confirms Somawansa

JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe yesterday confirmed reports that JVP parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawansa was under a disciplinary inquiry.
Although he didn’t identify the outspoken MP as the subject of an inquiry, Amarasinghe said any one found guilty of indiscipline would be severely dealt with.
"In fact, we will not show any mercy on our part," he told a commemorative meeting held at Vihara Mahadevi open air theatre in honour of comrades killed in the 1971 insurgency.
In Weerawansa’s absence, a brief welcome speech was made by trade union heavyweight Lal Kantha.
Amarasinghe said a section of the media wanted to be privy to the progress of the inquiry. Once the party finalized the inquiry the media would be informed, he said. But that would be handled by the JVP the way it wanted, he said.
In a hard hitting speech, the JVP leader accused a section of the media of trying to cause chaos and being part of a conspiracy to divide the party.
During his speech, he repeatedly attacked the media for working for money with an ulterior motive.
Dismissing reports of sharp divisions within the party, he said anyone found unfit to hold positions would be removed irrespective of his standing.
On the stage with Amarasinghe were Vijitha Herath, K. D. Lal Kantha, Chandrasene Wijesinghe, G. G. Gunaratne, S. K Subasinghe, Bimal Ratnayake, Priyanga Kotelawela and Chamira Koswatte.
Amarasinghe said the absence of JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva and MP Anura Kumara Dissanayaka who were overseas would be portrayed as trouble within the party.
Amarasinghe said that he wouldn’t deny the fact that there were disputes within the party. Over the years, people have quit the party and others had been sent out. But the party would survive, he said.
Weerawansa is under heavy fire for taking a friendly approach towards President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government. Weerawansa who played a critical role in transforming the JVP to a real power has been at loggerheads with a section of the party over his approach towards a range of contentious issues, particularly the call to disarm the breakaway LTTE group TMVP.
Amarasinghe yesterday reiterated his call to disarm the TMVP. Emphasizing the urgent need to disarm the group ahead of the May 10 elections to the Eastern Provincial Council, he accused President Rajapaksa of turning a blind eye to a growing threat.
The disarming of TMVP which he dubbed as the ``Pillaiyan gang’’ would send a strong message to the people still living under the jackboot of the LTTE. Unfortunately Rajapaksa couldn’t see reason as he wanted to take political advantage of the forthcoming elections.
He planned to win the EPC and then call fresh parliamentary elections ahead of the next Budget, Amarasinghe said.
Weerawansa recently public criticized the call to disarm the breakaway group at a press briefing called by the Patriotic National Front.
Acknowledging the breakaway group faced a serious threat from the LTTE, the JVP leader said that they wouldn’t mind even if the group was given security cover similar to that afforded to the president himself. But the group shouldn’t be allowed to carry arms, he said.
He repeated his famiiar allegations against the West, India and the UNP and the SLFP.