President to present election manifesto:

'Opposition campaign a non-starter'

Lakshmi DE SILVA

President Mahinda Rajapaksa would present to the country his second election manifesto with a clear vision for socio-economic development and peace among all communities. But the Opposition election campaign is a non-starter like a comedy acted by two opposing parties the UNP and JVP, SLFP General Secretary, Agriculture and Mahaveli Development Minister Maithripala Sirisena told the Daily News yesterday.

He said, both opposition political parties were facing internecine fighting and were breaking up into different groups and they do not have any agreement on policies or even a campaign agenda. Therefore they had nothing to offer the public on their election platform.

The Minister said another strange slogan both these parties brought out was to revive democracy when we have democracy in the country as well as in the SLFP. For both the UNP and JVP did not have democracy within their own parties and how could anyone who did not conduct himself at home ethically bring ethics before society, he queried.

Unfortunately the opposition candidate had become a victim of two bankrupt political groups and after January 26 there would not be a strong opposition in the country, he said.