Opposition digging own grave - Minister

Sandasen MARASINGHE and Priyanka KURUGALA

Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services Minister Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said the Government had no plan to destroy the Opposition.

The Opposition has brought about its own downfall through its wrong political decisions, he said.

Emphasising that the Government would secure a historic victory at the April 8 general election to implement the Mahinda Chintana Idiri Dekma, the minister said at the SLFP press conference at the Mahaweli Centre that the Government takes no decisions other than to strengthen the Government for the people.

The Opposition that could not stand the Government’s achievements gained by winning the people’s confidence was criticizing the Government to cover up their failure in politics, he said.

The Minister said the UNP and the JVP had hit the rock bottom. This is due to the wrong political decisions of their leaders, he said and asserted that the SLFP had never fallen to such depths politically, in the era when the UNP was at the height of its power. Explaining the reasons for the Opposition’s failure, Minister Sirisena remarked that the present leaders of the political parties of the Opposition could not identify the pulse of the people and their needs and aspirations. Therefore these parties in the Opposition have no political future, he said.

The Minister observed that the UNP to cover up its defeat, contested at the last presidential election under another symbol other than the elephant and the JVP to cover up their defeat at the April 8 general election is competing under another symbol dropping the bell.

Referring to the election manifesto, Minister Sirisena stated that there was no novel manifesto but the same Mahinda Chintana Idiri Dekma concept was the election manifesto of the UPFA.

The Government was requesting a two thirds mandate from the people to form a strong Parliament to make Sri Lanka the pride of Asia as envisaged in the Mahinda Chintana Idiri Dekma.