The leader of the hardline Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU), Udaya Gammanpila, accused the Tamil National Alliance MP, M A Sumanthiran of controlling the Sri Lankan government.
Saying that Sumanthiran had become the "unofficial prime minister of Sri Lanka", Gammapila was quoted by Adaderana as saying, "now, MP Sumanthiran is the guidance behind Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Prime Minister implements Sumanthiran’s ideas."
"Sumanthiran forgets the presence of media when he speaks with his friends in North and boasts that the government is in his hands and that he is able to topple it at any given moment."
Accusing the government of bringing about a constitution "beyond federalism", Gammanpila added, "Sumanthiran was the real leader of the country and that he is glad Sumanthiran now publicly acknowledges this."
His comments follow a series of comments by Sri Lankan politicians since the political crisis last October, accusing Tamil counterparts of effectively asserting too much control in Colombo politics.
