UNP needs urgent reforms - Media Minister

Chaminda PERERA

COLOMBO:Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene yesterday said the UNP requires urgent reform to extricate itself from the quagmire of defeat. The party should give an ear to the dissidents’ call for change in the party hierarchy, Minister Abeywardene said.

The Minister was addressing a press briefing at the Information Department yesterday.

“UNP heavyweights Lakshman Kiriella and S.B. Dissanayake have assumed that party’s vote base is depleting in rural areas. This situation was clearly evident at the recently concluded Provincial Council election. The party for the first time in its history deviated from its

original policy and engaged in a futile attempt to boost personal images at the North Central and Sabaragamuwa provincial council elections. This detraction from the party’s longstanding identity based on agriculture has led to this setback,” he said.

The Polonnaruwa district is a strong UNP base but the UPFA won the election by over 20,000 majority votes at the PC election. The rural community has lost their confidence in the party this time, he said.

The Minister scoffed at UNP General Secretary’s claims that malpractices took place during the PC election. The UNP General Secretary has failed to pinpoint where malpractices or vote rigging has actually taken place, he said.

Independent election observers claimed that the election was free and fair. No complaints of intimidation or vote rigging were reported in the North Central or Sabaragamuwa provinces.

But the UNP General Secretary’s claim that the malpractices were rampant during postal voting is baseless.

The Government has given unprecedented privileges and salary increments to public servants to augment their efficiency and they know how the UNP Governments tried to reduce the strength of public servants.

“The Public servants have utmost confidence in the Government despite attempts by certain elements to instigate them by organising fruitless strikes. Surveys conducted by the Media Ministry were accurate. The prediction that the JVP cannot win a single seat from the Polonnaruwa district has now materialised,” the Minister said.