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candidate, Hashim added: “There is very good trust between our party and Maithripala Sirisena.”
Commenting on Tissa Attanayake’s crossover, Hashim said: “He is not a |politician with a vote base. He has no vote, no base, so the effect was minimal – unlike what happened to the Government.”
“The party gave him the fair chance, the party raised him. Despite the strong rumours, the Party Leader and others did not think he would not take such a hasty decision. It was unfortunate.”
Following are excerpts:
Q: We hear there will be more UNP crossovers to the Government. Is it true?
A: There can always be speculation on both sides. As much as they can say our members will cross over, there would be more people crossing over from the other side. But the question is not that. The usual tradition is from the Opposition people cross over to the Government when they can’t hold on for personal reasons. The Government uses various pressure tactics such as threats, uses money as bait and offers various positions to take over people to their side. This is a normal scenario. I think that we need to shower praise upon the UNP members and organisers for withstanding heavy pressure that has been put on them in the last few weeks. The Government has been putting immense pressure; they will do anything to take our Parliamentarians. But our MPs have withstood it and as the General Secretary of the party I would say I respect them.
What is the reason for a Government MP to cross over to our side? He will lose everything. For example, Rajitha Senaratne was a Minister. He left all positions and perks and joined us. He is not aspiring to be the president or the prime minister. He will still be at most a minister. People who are coming over to this side are sacrificing everything and coming over for the country, because they believe this country has to be saved. That is the difference. I am proud to say that our party has withstood the Government pressure.
Q: Will there be more Government crossovers to the Opposition?
A: Yes, yes, in good time. I saw Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi screaming away on the television about 10 days ago saying ‘no more crossovers’. See what happened. There were many crossovers after that. On Wednesday two parties, two Ministers in the Government V. Radhakrishnan and P. Digambaran crossed over to the Opposition. Two weeks ago they pledged their support to President Rajapaksa. This shows the disillusionment. It’s just a matter of time before the whole team might come over and only Wimal Weerawansa will be left with the President.
Q: What actions are being taken to prevent the rumoured UNP crossovers?
A: We are not taking any action. We believe in trust, faith in the commitment to the party. As I said our MPs have stood with us despite immense pressure from the Government. Otherwise they couldn’t have stood those 20 years. During those 20 years our party cadre have been harassed, hammered and lost everything they had. Many who wanted to go would have gone already. So it is a question of trust and the bond between each other.
Q: Is this why no action was taken to stop Tissa Attanayake’s cross over?
A: Being one of our oldest members, of course there was that trust and bond. From a simple village youth, he was holding the most senior position in the party headquarters. The party gave him a fair chance. The party raised him. Despite the strong rumours the Party Leader and others did not think he would not take such hasty decision. It was unfortunate. These are realities that we have to live with. Again it comes around to the point that this party is built on principles, policies and a vision. People come around those principles and policies; it is not based on individuals. If you take the UNP, in the last few years 17 MPs crossed over in one go. That didn’t destroy the UNP. That goes to prove that the UNP can stand.
Q: What impact has Tissa Attanayake’s crossover had on the presidential campaign?
A: Of course when a person crosses over, there is a dampening effect. There are mood swings. But we were surprised that it was so temporary or didn’t affect us at all. Because the day after the General Secretary joined the Government, we had our maiden rally in Kandy. We saw the largest-ever crowd in a political rally in Kandy. If Tissa Attanayake’s going over was to be measured by that, then that itself indicated that it did not affect the party in least. Tissa Attanayake is not a politician with a vote base. He has no vote, no base, so the effect was minimal – unlike what happened to the Government. We are very happy about the President’s false confidence, because that will be his downfall.
Q: Attanayake accused Maithripala Sirisena of failing to fulfil pledges made to the UNP, especially his vouch to bring 20-25 Government members. Your comments?
A: There was no promise on any specific figures. There was a group who crossed over with Maithripala Sirisena. If somebody is trying to put a figure to this, already there are over 25 SLFPers who have pledged their support. Actually not only 25, there are thousands of SLFPers who have crossed over as a result. There are already over seven Parliamentarians, there are senior Provincial Council members, there are Local Government chairmen and Local Government members who have crossed. There are lot more waiting to cross over. We have many political parties joining in the fray. This is huge and this is just the beginning. There are a lot more coming. Why evaluate and come to decisions at this point that Maithripala Sirisena has not delivered? The delivering process has just begun.
Q: Are you saying there is a good understanding between the UNP and the common candidate?
A: There is perfect understanding between the UNP and the common candidate. The understanding is so good that when we had the convention ironically it was the Tissa Attanayake who brought the resolution that the party would wholeheartedly support the common candidate. Every person who was present raised their hand in approval. There was no dissension. That shows that the entire party is backing it. If you look at the number of people attending meetings and working on the ground, it shows that the UNP is 100% on board except for the former General Secretary.
Q: Are you worried about the MOUs signed between the common candidate and other political parties?
A: Not at all. We have absolute no issue about that. The UNP has an MOU with the presidential candidate. We have a very firm understanding. It is more than the piece of paper that we signed; it is about the trust that we build with each other. That is the most important thing. There is very good trust between the UNP and the common candidate.
Q: Do you believe Maithripala Sirisena will abolish executive power once he comes to power?
A: I do believe he will do it. It is true that we have had a bad history. Anybody can feel worried about this. But in this case I am very confident that it will happen because there is a whole purpose of bringing in a new era and new culture of politics into this 
country. A systematic change in the country, a value change in the country; in that respect the people who have got together are committed to this. This confidence gets reinstated with Venerable Sobitha, who is the heart of this whole group, he is the binding force.
Q: Is there any truth to the accusations that Maithripala Sirisena’s presidential campaign is being handled by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga?
A: Not at all. The UNP is the largest party in this alliance. The campaign coordination committee comprises the UNP, SLFP, JHU, DP and other smaller parties that have joined us. The National Coordination Committee is running the campaign. Bandaranaike is not even on that committee though she does work closely with party leaders.
Q: Reportedly there is a conspiracy inside the UNP to make Karu Jayasuriya the Prime Minister. Is that true?
A: This is news to me. We haven’t heard of anything in this regard. There is no such thing. Everybody is behind the leader 100%.
Q: Are you not troubled by the fact that Tissa Attanayake was a mole during strategy discussions?
A: Not at all worried. The UNP is agile, flexible to change. We are ready to change our ground plan swiftly and rapidly so we can attack at any point of time. So it is nothing.
