Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) House Leader Priyantha Pathirana pledged his allegiance to common opposition candidate Maitripala Sirisena today.

Mr. Pathirana told a news conference that he played a silent role in the fight against terrorism by helping paramilitary groups led by Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan alias Karuna after he defected from the LTTE in 2004.

“When Karuna and his team defected from the LTTE, they asked for help to fight terrorism. I, along with others, arranged facilities including accommodation for those who defected from the LTTE. After the war was over, we expected the Government to fulfill the aspirations of people. Yet, it never happened. Therefore, I decided to quit,” he said.(Kelum Bandara)