Jayalath out hook and line
By Chris Kamalendran
Northern fishing which has been swirling in troubled waters since the war began has been plunged into further controversy with the Minister in charge of Hindu Affairs being appointed to take charge of it.

The Prime Minister's office said Hindu Affairs Minister T. Maheswaran has been put in charge of the newly set up state-owned company, Northern Fishing Limited, which was earlier under the purview of Rehabilitation Minister Jayalath Jayawardena.
The strange switchover brought an immediate protest from the Northern Province Fishermen’s Cooperative Societies, which sent a petition to the Prime Minister, saying it was improper for a Hindu Affairs Minister to handle fishing.

But Mr. Maheswaran has hit back, claiming that some of the signatures in the petition against him were false. Political observers also noted that Mr. Maheswaran had been a bitter critic of Dr. Jayawardena and it was not clear how the latter would react to the trimming of his sails.

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