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| Wednesday, 8 October 2003 |
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Politics | |
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| Anura blasts journalists by S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen, Kandy South Group Cor. PA MP Anura Bandaranaike lashing out at the media declared that there was no necessity for the Bandaranaike's to look to others for their meals adding that his own size and that of his sister bore testimony to this. He was alluding to media reports which stated that he and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe were firm friends and had meals together and only pretended to fight for party consumption. Bandaranaike was addressing the Kandy District Sri Lanka Freedom party Forum at the Kandy Art Centre. The Gampaha District Parliamentarian also asked those present for their addresses so that he would personally send each one of them the newspapers which contained the promises made by the Prime Minister during the last election. Bandaranaike in a scathing attack on the media personnel said that there are very efficient and highly respected journalists in all newspapers who can write well and he did not wish to name them. But at the same time there are the low types, the 'sakkili' journalists who accept arrack or packets of cigarettes or even money and write. These are the ones who speak about the media freedom and are on the payroll of big companies receiving as much as Rs. 25,000 per month. Bandaranaike said in his life that he has not robbed a cent and he had been a parliamentarian when J. R. Jayewardene and R. Premadasa were in power. He is the son of two Prime Ministers and the brother of the President of this country. He could also consume whisky and get drunk and go to the police station and abuse the policemen. He was in the UNP for five years and rejoined the SLFP in 2000 after the death of his mother. He said in the seventies when he returned to the island after obtaining his degree from a British University, the people were sick of the SLFP but yet he was able to get around the party members and organise the youth front. He did not know anyone at Nuwara Eliya-Maskeliya but yet he was able to win the elections with a big majority at a time when many ministers and MP's lost their seats. That was 27 years ago. He left the Youth Front at the age of 35 as one cannot remain in that front after reaching that age. He is happy that there are young parliamentarians like Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Tilina Tennakoon, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Kumar Welgama, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon and many others in the Parliament. There is a strong Youth Forum now. Normally we try to activate the youth for only after facing defeat. Unlike in the distant past the people have a lot of expectations from the SLFP. At the last elections, Ranil Wickremesinghe said that he will solve the problem by making a good living for people. He never spoke about the LTTE or Prabhakaran. |
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