Upbeat MR says will establish Govt. in 2020

Tuesday, 8 May 2018 00:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Skandha Gunasekara

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday slammed both the UNP and the SLFP, asserting that the Joint Opposition would establish a Government in 2020.

Taking part in the Joint Opposition May Day rally in Galle yesterday, Rajapaksa said that the defeat at the Local Government elections had weakened the coalition parties irreparably.

“Sirisena was forced to hold his rally in Batticaloa because he has no support anywhere else in the country,” the former President said, charging that the SLFP had gone to the East Coast to garner the support and numbers of the minority communities to fill its May Day rally.

In addition, the former President said that President Maithripala Sirisena was compelled to say that he would not resign in 2020.

“Our victory at the recent polls has upset what is left of the SLFP.

The President had to make a statement that he would continue past 2020 to ensure that whoever is remaining the SLFP don’t abandon him,” Rajapaksa said.

Further, he claimed that the UNP was losing support by the day. “This time the UNP had their rally at the Sugathadasa stadium, which can hold only around 5000 people. This is because they know they don’t have the support to fill a ground for their rally. We heard that supporters left halfway through, shouting at the Prime Minister.”

Rajapaksa then said that UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was only damaging the party further by remaining as its leader. “Ranil doesn’t know how to gain votes. He can only lose votes. He may have won the General Election but in reality it was a huge loss for the UNP. Soon the party won’t have any supporters.”

He went on to say that the incumbent administration had failed to govern the country.

“They wouldn’t be able to govern a Grama Nildhari, let alone an entire country,” Rajapaksa said, while affirming that the Joint Opposition would bear the responsibility of serving the people once they establish a Government in 2020.

Meanwhile, Joint Opposition Parliament Group Leader MP Dinesh Gunawardana, who also took part in the Rally, said that the Government was crippling the economy. “The rupee has never been lower in comparison to the US dollar. The country is not attracting any foreign investments. Cost of living has risen drastically. The country needs a significant change from the path it’s heading on.”