Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa says if this is ‘Yahapalanaya’ may the gods have mercy on us.

“Whenever arrests are made, the statements regarding the arrests should be issued by the IGP or the Attorney General and not by government politicians as happening now. With the development of the country is at a standstill, the people are now forced to look to the gods for mercy under the so called Yaha Palanaya,” he said.

He made these remarks when he paid a courtesy call on the Chief Prelate of Mihintale today and added that both the development and good governance of the country has deteriorated. 

He told the media that he wish anger, hatred and revenge to stop and peace and prosperity to be ushered into the country. 

“People are being unemployed and vengeance has re-emerged. The papers are filled with statements made by politicians about the pending arrests, which are normally announced by the IGP or the Attorney General. Some individuals say that so and so will be arrested within a day or two. Is this the good governance they promised?” he questioned. 

He also expressed his views on the stalling of certain development activities, which in turn he claimed has affected the jobs of labourers and engineers and prevented income generation.

“The port city project should not be stopped, as the development of such a magnitude would never be achieved by the country for centuries, and I wish development activities continue uninterrupted,” he said replying to a question posed by a journalist on the Port City issue. (Athula Bandara)
Video by Athula Bandara