Many influenced me to go to Parliament: Ranil

• The situation today is politics and administration are both in shambles. I feel we will be able to set a course for the nation and our politics if we are represented in Parliament  

By Yohan Perera

Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he was influenced by many to go to Parliament though he did not have any intention to do so. 

Speaking during a webinar Mr. Wickremesinghe said “I did not have any intention of going to Parliament but I had to do so following the influence of many,”. “I have realised that the pandemic is spreading. The number of deaths is higher than anticipated. Therefore I felt our voice should be heard through Parliament,” he said.
“We have never seen a government becoming so unpopular in a short time. The opposition has not been able to come up with an alternative to this date. One wonders how a country could advance forward in such a scenario. Late W. Dahanayake’s political career was not a sound one. However, he was able to govern the nation. The situation today is politics and administration are both in shambles. I feel we will be able to set a course for the nation and our politics if we are represented in Parliament,” Mr. Wickremesinghe added.

“Sri Lanka felt indebted by 2009. The country did not think of new avenues to ensure inflow of revenue. The country had borrowed in Yen and dollars. Those who governed the nation then thought they cannot manage it. This is why they went for elections in 2015. We have priority to settle the borrowings when we come to power. We managed to increase revenue. However, there was a setback as a result of the Easter Sunday attacks. The present administration reduced taxes and this resulted in a revenue loss. Therefore the economy fell before the pandemic hit the nation.