Muzammil urges Muslims to back Gota

Western Province Governor A.J.M. Muzammil called upon the members of the Muslim community to become partners in the victory of presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the upcoming polls on 16 November.

Muzammil was speaking at a press conference held during the weekend in Kalmunai as part of the election campaign in support of Rajapaksa.

Speaking further, Muzammil said: “Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be elected President following the polls, and Muslims should be partners in his prosperity.”

Describing Gotabaya as a fair-minded person who could serve all communities without any discrimination, Muzammil said that a country needs a person of his calibre to run the Government because it needs stability, security, and an independent governance without any foreign influences.

“We want all communities in the country to live in peace and unity,” Muzammil said, lamenting that politicians such as Minister Patali Champika Ranawake was trying to create a wedge between Muslims and Sinhalese, by giving distorted versions of the Holy Quran. The present Government is responsible for such racism, which had raised its ugly head during the Yahapalanaya Government.

He recalled that no Muslim leader was given an opportunity to be on the stage at the maiden meeting of Sajith Premadasa, who launched his campaign from the Galle Face Green. “There was no Rauff Hakeem, Rishad Bathiudeen, or Mujibur Rahman during the launch of Sajith Premadasa’s campaign, fearing that he would lose votes from the majority community because of their presence,” he stressed.

On the contrary, he said, during the first meeting of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Anuradhapura, former Minister Athaullah was given an opportunity to speak from the platform, although there was no Muslim audience among the crowd.

The Governor also pointed out that merely building a few houses is no qualification to contest for presidency. He added that Sajith Premadasa is being backed by a person such as Mangala Samaraweera, who celebrated the death of his father, late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, by distributing kiribath in his village in Matara.

No constructive efforts were made during the four year tenure of the UNP, which did nothing for the benefit of the people. “The time has come for the people to register their support for a new leader, who has his own vision for the development of the nation,” he said, urging Muslims to rally round Gotabaya to take Sri Lanka to new heights.