Sajith remained silent over MCC pact during last govt.: PM

19 January 2020 09:18 pm

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa who was a key member of the UNP Cabinet remained completely silent about the MCC pact that was being promoted by his own government, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said today. Issuing a statement, Mr. Rajapaksa said Mr. Premadasa did not make any mention of it even during the Presidential election campaign. "Yet we now see him going around the country telling the new government how it should handle the MCC issue. Politics should have some basic ethical and moral standards. When the UNP government was arbitraily trying to sign this pact in haste with just days to go to the presidential election, Ven. Ududumbara Kashyapa Thera had to stage a protest fast to put a stop to it. Powerful members of the present Opposition Leader’s faction in the UNP such as former Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, were also in favour of signing the MCC pact as quickly as possible. Both factions of the UNP had the identical policy with regard to the MCC pact," he said The Prime Minister said one can form a fair idea of Opposition Leader Premadasa’s political morality by what he is now saying about the MCC pact in the belief that the people have forgotten what the UNP was trying to do just two months ago. "President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a committee to study the contents of the MCC pact that the UNP Cabinet approved last October. Once the findings of this Committee are available, we will inform Parliament and the general public about the course of action we intend taking with regard to this matter. Under no circumstances will our government sign any agreement with a foreign country without informing the Parliament and the people. Furthermore, our government will not sign any agreement that is inimical to the interests of this country. That is the difference between the UNP and its allies on the one hand and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna led government on the other," he said.