MR to lead rally against Govt. in Kandy

A public rally will be held against the Government in Kandy on 8 March, under the leadership of Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Dullas Alahapperuma said yesterday.

Opposition Leader  Mahinda Rajapaksa

 

“The time has come to stand against the Government. We will fight against all the ill-treatment of the Government, that is why we have decided to organise this rally to raise awareness of the public,” Alahapperuma told reporters at the Opposition Leader’s office in Colombo.

He said the rally would be the first of a series of 10 public rallies titled ‘Iwasuwa Athi’ (Enough is enough), and that all 10 rallies would be held in 10 districts until December this year. 

Alahapperuma said the final rally would be held in Colombo in December, preceded by a march which would commence from Kataragama. According to him, the final rally will likely be held prior to the Presidential Election, which will most likely be held in December. 

 “The rally will be held considering five key issues, which are: the alienation of national assets, postponement of elections, increasing the cost of living, corruption, and ‘separatist’ constitutional amendments,” he added. 

MP Keheliya Rambukwella, speaking in his turn, said the rally would be the first rally that the UPFA would organise after Mahinda Rajapaksa became the Opposition Leader. 

He noted that the rally would be backed by all political parties that supported the Joint Opposition (JO) prior to 26 October last year. 

Rambukwella said they would inform the public on the effects of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution during the series of rallies. 

“When the 19th Amendment was passed in the House, we were told that the 20th Amendment would also be brought, that is why we supported the 19th Amendment in the first place, but somehow that didn’t happen,” he said.