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by Ravi Ladduwahetty in Anuradhapura

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremenayake, addressing the inaugural PA rally at the Anuradhapura public esplanade on Friday, reiterated his call to UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to spell out to the country, his and his party's stand on the LTTE.

"I am calling the UNP Leader to publicly state whether he is against the Government banning the LTTE here, whether both he and the UNP are opposed to countries such as the US, UK, India and Malaysia proscribing the LTTE, whether his Government would lift the ban on the LTTE in the event of the UNP returning to power, whether he will give a separate homeland to the LTTE, whether he will pull out the security forces from the Jaffna peninsula and whether he will consult and seek the blessings of the LTTE in terms of solving national issues," the PM stressed.

The UNP cannot keep the voters in the dark about these national issues at a critical time like this in the contemporary history of the nation. The UNP Leader must also say on what basis they have gone into partnership with the Tamil Alliance who believe that the LTTE is the sole defender of the Tamil citizens. Also the UNP Leader must prove how the UNP has planned to give a separate state to the LTTE, he said.

Former Speaker and Gampaha District PA Leader Anura Bandaranaike said that he was happy to speak at the inaugural PA polls rally at Anuradhapura. "My father was getting ready to inaugurate the Anuradhapura city development programme when I was born on February 15, 1949. Therefore, this city is very special to me," Bandaranaike said.

"Today is also a very poignant day for me as I am sitting on the same political platform with my sister after ten years and I will never leave the party ever again."

"One of the biggest challenges and dreams that my mother - the late Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike - had in her life time was to unite my sister and me and engage in politics through the SLFP. It was indeed unfortunate that we could not unite during her lifetime."

It is ironic, he said, that the PA dissidents who are now in the UNP such as Prof. G.L. Peiris and S.B. Dissanayake did not utter a word of gratitude to the PA at the time they left. They should have had the common courtesy of leaving when they did so.

I too left the UNP and rejoined the SLFP. But I did this after getting the UNP Leader down to my Rosmead Place residence and explaining to him in great detail as to how and why I wanted to leave that Party. We had a two hour long chat. At the end of the discussion, we embraced each other and we went our ways. He has been a life time friend since we were classmates at Royal Primary. I did not want to run away like the PA dissidents. The Bandaranaikes do not run away.

To my mind I discharged my duties as a Speaker in a fair and impartial manner. Any former UNP MP who has a clear conscience will bear testimony to this. The only occasion that they had a grouse against me was when I refused to resummon Parliament.

The decision to summon a prorogued Parliament lies with the President and that is in conformity with the Constitution. The Constitution was not enacted either by my father or mother, who were both Prime Ministers. Who did enact the present Constitution? It was the UNP and President J.R. Jayewardene. Ranil Wickremesinghe should be personally aware of this as he was a member of that Cabinet.

The Bandaranaikes have created world records which have gained entries in the Guinness Book of records as well. The UNP has also created records. They have already lost eleven consecutive elections. There will be another record when they lose the twelfth one. That too will gain entry in the Guinness book.

I am at a loss to understand how the UNP could have offered Rs. 30 million to each of these dissidents. Last elections, they gave only Rs. 100,000 per candidate for their campaigning. as I was also in that party for seven years.

Former Sri Lankan cricket captain and Colombo District PA candidate Arjuna Ranatunga said: "I am happy to start my campaign from Anuradhapura as I also commenced my international cricket career after worshipping the Sri Maha Bodhi."

"My father, who was in SLFP politics for 40 years was dead against me and my brothers taking into politics. My programme would be to do a job of work and not to engage in a mud slinging campaign. I am in politics to serve the nation in its time of need."

"I am not confining my campaign and that of the PA only to the Colombo district but will go countrywide."

People's Alliance General Secretary and Minister of Agriculture Forestry, Food and Cooperative Development D.M. Jayaratne said: "There are the 12 dissidents who went away and that is very good that they did it. That will enhance the prospects of the PA winning."

We will look after the 6.8 million farmers and the 8.3 million voters. We have increased the import duty for the benefit of the farmers as we want to protect them.

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