Former Deputy Minister and LTTE's special commander for Ampara and Batticaloa Districts Vinaygamurthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman said on Saturday that it was he who persuaded President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa not to go ahead with the carving out of an Urban Council for the Sainthamaruthu region.

During a discussion held at the Karaithivu Vipulananda Cultural Centre in Ampara, he said that the Gazette notification on the institution of Sainthamaruthu Urban Council was issued on February 14, while a demand by Tamils to upgrade the Kalmunai North Divisional Secretariat had been ignored for the past 30 years.