The Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) will abstain from voting on the second reading of the Budget 2026, Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam informed Parliament today.
Addressing the Parliament, MP Shanakiyan said that the ITAK had decided a week ago to vote against the Budget 2026, as the government had failed to heed issues regarding the Tamil community.
MP Shanakiyan said, however, the President had agreed to a meeting with the ITAK next week to discuss the party’s concerns.
Stating that it is only a year since the government came into power, the MP said they have a few more years to discuss and resolve the issues.
“We still have hope in the President. We will not vote for or against the government today, only because, as a measure of goodwill, trusting the President and putting our faith in the President, that the President will resolve our issues, will listen to us, and that he will look after the Tamil peoples’ political issues. Also that the President will bring in a new constitution that will include the Tamil peoples’ aspirations. At least in the coming few months, the President will listen to the victim community on the accountability issues and will act on the land issues. This is only because we want to engage as a goodwill gesture,” he added.
MP Shanakiyan said that the ITAK’s abstention from voting today is a serious message to the world that the party was still trying to work with the government and wants to work with them. (Newswire)