Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Leader and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the problems of the country cannot be solved by agitations.
Speaking at the SLPP’s Anamaduwa Electoral Convention titled ‘Mera Balayata Erehi Jana Balaya’ (People’s power against thuggery) at Arachchikattuwa, Chilaw on Thursday, former President Rajapaksa said, “Despite the allegations by some, we have not deliberately done any harm to the country. We will not do so even in the future. Some make baseless accusations against us, but even they do not know their seriousness.”
Former President Rajapaksa said, “The economic crisis that followed the Covid-19 pandemic has become a huge challenge for all of us even today. Some exploited this situation and provoked the public, but the same individuals shy away when responsibilities are given to them on behalf of the country.”
He said that mass agitations only take the country backwards. “It is easy to set the country on fire, but rebuilding it is difficult. You should pick the side of those who build the country, and not those who destroy it. Though we could not resolve all your problems at once, we are doing it gradually. However, no problem can be resolved by provoking the masses. Only those who do not fear challenges can solve these problems, and even today, the best group for that task is the SLPP.”
He said that the SLPP is ready for any election. “There had been things which went wrong because we had no control over them. There were other mistakes we could not correct because we respected democracy. However, you all should keep in mind that none of them are our defeats,” he said.
Leadership
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has said that he is ready to give political leadership to the protest campaign organised by several parties in the Opposition jointly with trade unions and those involved in the struggle.
The Opposition Leader has also said that they should be careful not to let the leadership of the struggle fall into the hands of parties who criticise the Government in the morning and make friends with the Government at night.
The Opposition Leader was speaking at a meeting with several parties who were involved in the struggle and representatives of trade unions on Thursday. A group representing the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, Frontline Socialist Party, trade union leaders was present at the meeting. However, representatives of the JVP or its allied trade unionists were not in attendance at the meeting. The Opposition Leader said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe is the protector of the Rajapaksa family and that he will be committed to fulfilling the demands of those engaged in the struggle under his rule.
National food program
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that the village temple and other religious institutions must join the national program of the Government to make the country self-sufficient in terms of food.
The Premier was speaking at the Rural Economic Revival and Food Security Programs at Kethumathi Temple, Madiwela and Sri Saddharmarama Viharaya, Polwatta on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister said that the National Food Security Program is being implemented under the leadership of the President. The contribution of temples in each village and other religious institutions is highly recommended in this worthy course.
Government officials have been sent to each village and a committee of public representatives has also been appointed in this regard. Premier Gunawardena said “Every district should focus on crops that can be used not only for consumption but that can also be exported.
For example, the Puttalam district is engaged in cotton cultivation and it is planned to harvest the cotton and export it in about eight months. This program provides an example to every district and we should focus on crops that increase the yield more than usual and crops that strengthen the export economy.” The Prime Minister said that the Government’s rural economic revival and food security program is being implemented in 14,000 villages and the Government’s plan is to solve the financial crisis and make the country self-sufficient in terms of food.
Rumours
Urban Development and Housing Minister Prasanna Ranatunga, who was rumoured to be leaving the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and joining the United National Party (UNP) was seen on the stage on Thursday at the rally organised by the SLPP at Arachchikattuwa. This rally was organised at the place where the house of State Minister Sanath Nishantha was burnt and destroyed by Aragalaya activists on May 9.
Before participating in the public rally, Minister Ranatunga engaged in a discussion with Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakse, State Minister Sanath Nishantha, former Ministers Gamini Lokuge, Namal Rajapaksa and MPs Madhura Vithanage, Sampath Athukorala and others.
After going to the venue of the meeting, the Minister held a discussion with the people who were organising the meeting and left for Colombo to participate in the Party Leader’s meeting to be held in Parliament. Minister Prasanna Ranatunga was abroad last week and as a result, did not participate in the vote on the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution.
There were media reports published that he was due to join the UNP. Making a statement regarding this, Minister Ranatunga said that he had no intention of leaving the ‘Pohottuwa’ which was supporting President Ranil Wickremesinghe at this moment. He also said that supporting the President does not mean that he has climbed on to the back of the elephant.
Minister Ranatunga expressed his gratitude to State Minister Sanath Nishantha and other Members of Parliament who organised the rally and for being able to come to the stage of the SLPP.
“Ten dual citizens”
Following the passage of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, a public dialogue has been created on MPs with dual citizenship and various names of MPs with dual citizenship are being speculated among the people.
Even the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has written to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena requesting an appropriate action on Members of Parliament (MPs) who are dual citizens.
SLPP Parliamentarian Prof. Channa Jayasumana has said that although it is an open secret that there are 10 dual citizens in Parliament, information has surfaced that there are two people in Parliament who are not even citizens of this country.
Prof. Jayasumana said that a Parliamentary election was held in August 2020 according to the 19th Constitution and according to that Constitution, dual citizens cannot contest and therefore, the argument that there was no such rule when they contested was completely wrong. He also requested the Speaker to expel all of them from Parliament.
Fraudulent act
Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Leader MP Udaya Gammanpila said some say there are 10 dual citizens in Parliament, but there is no method to identify them. Gammanpila said that no one has a list that can tell who the dual citizens are and the only way was they must voluntarily declare that they have dual citizenship.
At a media briefing in Colombo, Gammanpila said that four MPs came to Parliament before the 20th Amendment was passed.
He said, “The so-called dual citizens have come to Parliament fraudulently by hiding their dual citizenship. I do not think they will come forward to reveal their citizenship. Therefore, another method should be found to identify them.”
UNP to gather political activists
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed the UNP top brass to prepare a mechanism to gather political activists representing all major Parties, including the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), into the party based on their wish. The President had requested to keep in touch with the ever-changing political situation in Sri Lanka and to start the work of bringing in the political activists who represented every Party, including the SLPP and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) at the village level to the Party as soon as possible.
President Wickremesinghe has advised to prepare this program as soon as possible and to start the future activities of the party accordingly. The President had given this advice at a high-level political meeting of the UNP attended by UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardena, UNP Chairman Wajira Abeywardena, UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara and UNP Deputy Leader Akila Viraj Kariyawasam.
Pandora Papers
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has said the best solution to resolving the forex crisis is to recover the funds of Sri Lankans cited in the Pandora Papers.
Addressing a Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) gathering at Wellawaya on Thursday, the Opposition Leader said obtaining loans from China, India, the United States and the European Union is not a permanent solution for the economic and debt crisis in the country.
Premadasa said, “The main contributing factor to the medicine shortage is the dollar shortage. Although the country’s stolen assets and resources must be recovered, the current Government cannot be trusted on this.”
He said that all funds that have been stolen by those in power will be recovered under a Government led by the SJB.
“Although the current Government said that more dollars are needed, taxes have been imposed on export industries such as the travel industry, information technology and clothing which earn dollars. This tax policy will discourage the export sector. We do not approve this tax policy. The industries that could bring more dollars to the country should be given relief and encouraged more,” he said.
Literary awards
The State Literary Awards Ceremony 2022, organised annually to give due accolades to the Sri Lankan literati, was held in grandeur at the BMICH, Colombo on Friday under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Forty State literary awards and three ‘Sahitya Ratna’ awards were presented at the 65th State Literary Awards Ceremony which was organised by the State Literary Advisory Council, the Sri Lanka Arts Council, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs.
Prof. Chandrasiri Palliaguru (Sinhala Medium), Senior Prof. Kamani Jayasekara (English Medium) and T. Gnanasekaran (Tamil Medium) were honoured by the President with the “Sahitya Ratna” Lifetime Award. The copies of all the award winning books were also presented to the President. The President who received the parcel of those gifted books with a smiling face said “Now I can start my library again.” Those remarks by the President received a huge response from those who were at the event.
Compensation
The Cabinet of Ministers has decided to pay Rs. 10 million in compensation to the family of late SLPP Polonnaruwa District Parliamentarian Amarakeerthi Athukorala who was killed in a mob attack during the protests on May 9 this year.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said last week the limit for compensating a murdered Government official was five million rupees. However, at the meeting of the cabinet last week it was decided to increase the limit to Rs. 10 million in Athukorala’s case.
Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapaksa has also launched a program to make a financial contribution to the family of slain MP Athukorala with the help of Government and Opposition Parliamentarians.
MP Athukorala died on May 9 at Nittambuwa while fleeing an angry mob who surrounded his vehicle. He was not entitled to an MP’s pension as he did not complete five years parliamentary service. Meanwhile, the wife and two children of MP Athukorala, met President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently.
President Wickremesinghe, who expressed his deep regret over the incident, looked into the family’s welfare including the education of the children and requested them to inform him if they needed any assistance. The President also assured the late Athukorala’s family that he is ready to provide any assistance to build the future of the children and the welfare of the family on behalf of the late MP, either personally or under the grants from the Government.
Congratulatory message
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has sent a congratulatory message to the new Prime Minister of Britain Rishi Sunak. Extending his warm felicitations on the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister of Britain, President Wickremesinghe has expressed confidence that the ties between the two nations would be further strengthened under Sunak’s leadership.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has also congratulated the new British Prime Minister. Premier Gunawardena said he looks forward to working closely with the Prime Minister to promote bilateral friendly relations and cooperation between the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka.
Yala incident
A group of people recklessly driving in vehicles in the sensitive areas of the Yala National Park a couple of days ago turned into a hot topic in media circles. The incident came to light after a video showing a fleet of SUVs circling and accelerating inside the park went viral on social media.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe directed the Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake to immediately look into the incident. The President had also given instructions to the Secretary to the President to summon all the institution heads which come under the purview of the Environment Ministry to the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday, October 26.
During the meeting, President Wickremesinghe inquired from the officials on what had really happened. The ministry officials had revealed the information on the incident and those who were involved in it. They had also briefed the President on the progress of the investigation carried out by the Department of Wildlife regarding the incident.
Then the President had instructed officials to compile regulations restricting any unregistered vehicle entering the Yala National Park. President Wickremesinghe had also instructed officials not to allow any unauthorised vehicle to enter the other National Parks such as Wilpattu, Horton Plains, Sinharaja and Sripada Forest Reserve.
Earlier, nine people along with six vehicles surrendered to the Yala wildlife officials in connection with the incident of entering the Yala National Park and engaging in reckless driving inside the Yala National Park in a way that harms the wild animals. After presenting them before the Tissamaharama Magistrate’s Court, the Magistrate ordered them to be released on bail.