Will support SLPP at presidential polls if it agrees to a common symbol- President

• MR says Pohottuwa cannot be compromised

President Maithripala Sirisena asserted yesterday that his Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) would team up with Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in view of the presidential election only if it agreed to contest under a common symbol.  

However, SLPP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has already spelled out that it is too late to compromise Pohottuwa symbol (lotus bud).  

Addressing the party’s Kurunegala district convention, he said though the SLFP suffered setbacks at times in its history, it did not vanish from the scene because of its people-friendly approach. He said whoever opined that the SLFP had been weakened, any candidate in the fray would need its support to win the presidential elections.   

He said one should not forget about it.  He said the SLFP should aim at taking parliamentary control at the elections scheduled for the next year rather than trying to elect the President who does not command much power. The President said plans were in place to capture parliamentary power at the 2020 elections, not as a single party but as an alliance with others. Commenting on his conflict with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, he said it was a phenomenon of the clash between the corrupt neo-liberal policies and the policies laid down by SLFP founder leader the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.   

The SLFP suffered setbacks at times in its history, it did not vanish from the scene

However, SLPP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has already spelled out that it is too late to compromise Pohottuwa symbol (lotus bud).  

Addressing the party’s Kurunegala district convention, he said though the SLFP suffered setbacks at times in its history, it did not vanish from the scene because of its people-friendly approach. He said whoever opined that the SLFP had been weakened, any candidate in the fray would need its support to win the presidential elections.   

He said one should not forget about it.  He said the SLFP should aim at taking parliamentary control at the elections scheduled for the next year rather than trying to elect the President who does not command much power. The President said plans were in place to capture parliamentary power at the 2020 elections, not as a single party but as an alliance with others. Commenting on his conflict with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, he said it was a phenomenon of the clash between the corrupt neo-liberal policies and the policies laid down by SLFP founder leader the late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.