15 November 2018 10:35 am
In his speech at Parliament, the Premier requested the Opposition to join hands with them.
“Join hands with us, don't think about the pension. Think about the election. We want an election,” he said.
"Do you want an election or not? Do you want it?" PM asked the Opposition MPs.
"You can't pass resolutions by just shouting. The previous Government was failing. That is why President asked me to take over the Government,” PM Rajapaksa said.
He said Speaker Karu Jayasuriya was appointed by the previous Government and his position should have to be neutral.
He also said the Speaker was biased towards the United National Party (UNP) and to his Western friends.
“The President dissolved the Parliament to pave way for elections, which is the people's right. It was the UNP and JVP who were continuously delaying the elections,” he said.
“Though the Speaker did not accept it, we were the force in the Opposition. If the UNP remained in office for the remaining year, this country would have been destroyed. That is why the President made the decision,” he said
"I am the Prime Minister. I have been the President as well. Premiership is not a big deal for me. I have been coming to Parliament since my childhood. The Speaker allows only Parliamentarian Mahinda Rajapaksa to make the speech, not as Prime Minister,” he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rajapaksa said that there would be a price reduction on petrol from midnight today.