23 October 2019 05:34 pm
The Gota - Baya (fear of Gota) among all wrongdoers, murderers, bribe-takers and drug dealers was understandable because he was to launch a special campaign against those criminals on assuming Presidency after November 16, Spokesman of the SLPP, Dulles Alahapperuma said today.
Responding to Daily Mirror at the first-ever SLFP – SLPP joint press briefing held at Rajagiriya last morning, former Minister Alahapperuma added that the underworld characters imported by the government, drug kingpins, those who misappropriate public money, murderers and bribe-takers must find a place to hide when Gotabhaya Rajapaksa wins the presidential poll. “Yes, they must really get worried and feared when Gota wins,” Mr. Alahapperuma stressed.
The UNF was going round the country giving a multitude of promises like two school uniforms, two pairs of shoes, Rs. 1,500 wage per day for estate workers etc. Why can’t the government go ahead with those promises as the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Education Minister and Minister in charge of the plantation sector are in the government, Mr. Alahapperuma questioned and added voters were discreet enough not to get hoodwinked by these promises.
Mr. Alahapperuma said the two reports released by the Presidential Commission that probed corruptions and misdeeds of the current government has serious strictures and admonishments on the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) and has recommended legal action for alleged misappropriation of state funds.
He challenged the UNP to tell President Maithripala Sirisena to release the commission report if it was so clean as claimed by the party’s candidate.
“We are not worried about Tamil and Muslim votes as all big guns in the Muslim community are with us. In 2015 Mahinda Rajapaksa polled 75,000 votes from the North alone even though he lost the election. You can have a fair calculation of the islandwide vote base expected for Gotabhaya Rajapaksa when you assess the voting pattern at the local government polls in February 2015. I can safely predict that he would obtain nearly 60% of all votes polled," Mr. Alahapperuma emphasised.
SLFP Spokesman Weerakumara Dissanayaka said the SLFP joined the SLPP with a minimum of one million votes and therefore no one could prevent the victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
There was a concerted effort to disrupt the unity between the two parties. The problem with these detractors was that they did not realise that the SLFP under no circumstances joins the UNP. Being a left-oriented party, the SLFP cannot join the UNP which upholds neo-liberal policies, Mr. Dissanayaka said.
Mr. Dissanayaka said though the SLFP gave critical support to form the UNP led Yahapalana government; the political marriage was difficult since the two parties had contrasting policies. “We are at ease now with the SLPP as we have found our real bedfellows. I believe that we can run a good efficient and clean administration together protecting each others’ identities,” he said. (Sandun A Jayasekera)