Several individuals were injured and 14 vehicles damaged as a result of a clash between supporters of the Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) and the National Workers’ Union (NWU) at Commercial Junction in Kotagala yesterday (19), an election monitoring group said.

The CWC and NWU are both constituent parties of the UPFA.

Apparently, the clash had been sparked off when CWC campaign workers were having refreshments at an eatery called ‘Hillcool’, in the Dimbulapatana police area and supporters of the NWU had also gone there.

In another clash that occurred in the Hatton town, yesterday evening, Kotagala organizer of the National Workers Union (NWU) Kumar was stabbed and injured allegedly by CWC supporters, they said.

Despite the fact that the incident occurred in the Dimbulapatana police area, both intra party supporters had gone to the Hatton police station to lodge complaints against each other, the police media unit said last night.

They said that that the police had not received any information regarding anyone being injured as there had been no such complaints, but they were only informed of the clash.

MP Digambaram told media that the conduct of Minister Thondaman was reminiscence of a dictator and brought memories of Velupillai Prabhakaran, who ran his de facto state in the North sometime back.

The monitoring group said that MPs P. Digambaram and P. Rajadurai (NWU) were traveling to Hatton from Nuwara Eliya in a convoy of vehicles, when supporters of Minister Arumugam Thondaman attacked them. Director of Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE), Keerthi Tennakoon told The Island that it was the most serious election related incident of violence in Nuwara Eliya.

NWU National Organsier Sridharan had told CaFFE that their Kotagala organizer, Kumar, was stabbed in Hatton Town, while he was leaving home after lodging a complaint with the police. He had been admitted to Glendon hospital, Keerthi said.

CaFFE alleged that due to the influence of Minister Thondaman, law is not properly implemented in the area.

Rajadurai, who recently resigned from the CWC, joined the NWU yesterday. With this latest clash, violent election related incidents rose to nine.

Acting Police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana also said last night that there had been a clash between the two constituent parties of UPFA and about eight vehicles, comprising two defenders and six vans of MP Thondaman had been damaged. (By Madura Ranwala)

Source: The Island (Sri Lanka)