The Malwatte Chapter Mahanayake, the Most Venerable Thibbatuwave Siddartha Sri Sumangala Thera told Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga that, though the Sri Lanka Freedom Party(SLFP) led governments had ruled the country for the last 20 years, no proper development had trickled down to the villages.

The Mahanayake Thera said the people of Hambantota had pressing needs besides a port and an airport. He said that as a result the people virtually took to the streets to unseat the last government .

He said, “Whenever the SLFP contested in alliance with other parties forgetting its hand symbol, the party’s founding policies and principles were compromised over the wishes of others. Therefore, an SLFP-led alliance could not meet the aspirations of the people. The SLFP could have preserved its identity by contesting under its hand symbol. Some forget village development when in power. One need not be in power to serve the village. Mr. Sajith Premadasa did it even without power".

Mr. Ranatunga said, “Nothing was done for the country during the last six months. SLFP-led alliances were in power for the last 20 years, but no development took place during the tenure of former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.” (J. A. L. Jayasinghe)