Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian S. Sritharan today read out a prepared statement in Parliament glorifying and romanticizing the acts of slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Prabhakaran’s birth anniversary also fell today. Mr. Sritharan, who justified the cause fostered by the LTTE called it a freedom struggle and stressed the need to commemorate the slain LTTE leaders and cadres on Mahaveer day.

However, hisspeech drew widespread condemnation from government benchers. Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake hit back at Mr. Sritharan saying Prabhakaran was responsible for the killing of so many leaders of both communities.

Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara was also opposed the statement made by the TNA MP.

Meanwhile, Government MP Hunais Farook asked that the controversial sections in Mr. Sritharan speech be expunged from the Hansard. Murugesu Chandrakumar, the Deputy Chairman of Committees, gave an order to that effect. (Kelum Bandara and Yohan Perera)