Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran today explained his recent comments on Buddhist temples in the north and said that his speech on September 24, which he made in Tamil, was mistranslated and misinterpreted.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the National Sports Festival in Jaffna, he said that he only questioned the construction of religious sites in private land.

"Before any religious site is constructed, due permission is to be sought by the local government body, Wigneswaran said. It is wrong to construct such buildings using protection of the army. The people in the north are raising these questions. I only raised these issues", Wigneswaran explained.

Wigneswaran led a protest titled "Tamil people arise" in Jaffna on September 24 in which demands such as an end to "Sinhalese colonization" were forwarded.