Sri Lanka's opposition leader R Sampanthan said the demand by the Northern Provincial Council earlier this month to change the official name of an island of the Jaffna peninsula back into Tamil from Sinhala was "a stupid proposal".
Mr Sampanthan, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance, said he saw no reason to make Nainathivu (Tamil) the official name, as opposed to the current name Nagadipa (Sinhala), The Island reported.
The TNA-run NPC had recently passed a resolution, demanding the name of the island off Jaffna to be changed back to Tamil, but Mr Sampanthan said,
"There’s no reason to change the name in this country where we all live; I am opposed to this proposal. We should be trying to unite people and not divide them. Nagadipa should remain just as the Nainativu kovil must remain. This is a stupid proposal."
Sri Lankan military lays foundation for new Buddha statue in North-East (09 November 2015)
Government changes name of Tamil island to Sinhala (07 November 2015)
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