SLFP Youth Front rebranding not to attack Namal, says new Chief

Monday, 23 February 2015 00:09 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) yesterday said that changing the leadership of the youth wing of the party and renaming it was not done to attack the Nil Balakaya stalwart MP Namal Rajapaksa.

Speaking to Daily FT the newly appointed SLFP Youth Front President MP Shantha Bandara said that MP Rajapaksa is also a committee member of the SLFP Youth Front and that the SLFP did not take the decision to rename the youth wing of the party to attack MP Rajapaksa who is the eldest son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa or to attack anybody else in the party. “This change was made according to the SLFP constitution. There were criticisms concerning the procedure about this decision, but that is the way about politics anywhere. However I would like to state that this decision was not taken to attack MP Namal Rajapaksa who led the Nil Balakaya earlier and that he is a committee member of the new SLFP youth wing,” Bandara added. He also said that the intention of the party is to create a generation of youth with an accurate knowledge and understanding about politics. “Today the youth are very sentimental even concerning politics. This tendency is what we want to change, as we want to build a young generation with a correct understanding of politics and bring them to the political arena of the nation,” he said. Commenting about the future plans of the SLFP Youth Wing, Bandara said that they will stand up against the injustices that happen to the youth without considering any party preferences.