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2 August 2015 07:59 pm - 0 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Prasanna Ranatunga, the Chief Minister of the Western Province was caught up in a controversy regarding a land deal which resulted in him and his wife being questioned by the Financial Crimes Investigation Department. He is contesting at the upcoming General Elections from the Gampaha District. In an interview with the DailyMirror he discussed the present political climate of the country.
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What have you got to say about the allegation made against you regarding a land deal?You are the Gampaha District leader of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The UPFA lost the district at the last election. How challenging is it for you to win at this election?
Actually at the last election, we lost by a narrow margin of 4000 votes. People were misled with all forms of baseless and unfounded allegations at that time.
Now, they have been proven wrong. Initially, there was this allegation of the possession of Lamborghini cars by the Mr. Rajapaksa family. No Lamborghini has been found yet. Then, it was the allegation of rearing thoroughbred horses from the UK. No such horses have ever been found. You hail from a political family. While you are contesting under the UPFA banner your brother Arjuna is on the other side, campaigning against you. How challenging is this for you?
Arjuna has not entered politics in Gampaha as such. He has been in politics actively only for four months. The people of Gampaha know how I followed in the footsteps of my late father Reggie Ranatunga. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) members, supportive of the Ranatunga family, will not vote for Arjuna as a result. My other brother Ruwan is also with us.You accused the police of acting like a political wing of the UNP. During the term of your government, undue pressure was applied on the police to toe the line. What do you have to say about this?
I do not deny it. There were miscreants among us. The police did not act when a politician tied a public servant to a tree. It is an individual case. But, when the Minister in charge of the police service is in Gampaha, the situation is now becoming serious.In your view, what are the reasons for the defeat of the UPFA at the January 8 Presidential Poll?
There were many reasons for our defeat. Activities of some of our ministers resulted in the defeat on one hand. Some of our members acted in a manner that disappointed public servants. In the allocation of resources, some were alienated. It led to unrest. All that translated into a defeat for former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.You mean the declaration of the Presidential Election is a mistake on the part of the then government?
Yes. If we opted for the General Election first, we could have denied nomination to those charged with various allegations. After dropping them, we could have fielded clean candidates.Then, you could have risked the defeat of the party. Instead of rejecting wrongdoers, the people would have rejected the party as a whole. What are your views?
There is something positive about this electoral system. People can vote for a party of their choice. At the same time, they can reject candidates tainted with allegations.In case, Mr. Rajapaksa is re-elected to office, what will be the priority areas for your government?
We will give a host of benefits to public servants and private sector workers. We will work for the poverty stricken people. We ended the war under the leadership of Mr. Rajapaksa when he was President. The elimination of terrorism is not something welcomed by war profiteers. If there is a prolonged war, it is good for them. Had Mr. Rajapaksa wanted to make money, he would have let the war drag on. But, he finished it off. In the past our politicians did not act to end the war. But, Mr. Rajapaksa saved the country from terrorism within four years of coming to power. We can work according to a fresh programme with a new set of politicians.What are the shortcomings you have identified that need to be corrected?
During our time, we developed school laboratories. But, the promise to establish Wi Fi Zones became more attractive to the youth of today.
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