Working class can’t be taken for a ride - President

Chaminda PERERA

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the working class proved themselves at the last Presidential Election that they cannot be taken for a ride by giving false promises.

The working class was with the Government when some elements were trying to deceive them by promising a salary hike of Rs 10,000, he added.

The President said that the proletariat is not prepared to betray the country for a salary hike and they believed in what the Government promised them at the last Presidential Election.

He added that the working class was with the Government at a time when some political party leaders deviated from the policies of their party for dollars.

The President was speaking at a Conference to educate the members of the working class about the Mahinda Chintanaya - Idiri Dekma at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium yesterday. President Rajapaksa added that the country needs a stable Parliament to curb corruption and rebuild this Nation.

President Rajapaksa yesterday pledged to build a workforce rich in technological and language skills and high standards of professionalism.

He said he would create an environment in which no one put a profession of others into disgrace.

He said a stable Parliament is needed to implement the Mahinda Chintana - Idiri Dekma to rebuild this nation and every citizen has a responsibility in this regard.

“The people want a country free from terrorism, intimidation, exploitation and imperialism under the Mahinda Chintanaya,” he said

He stressed that the Mahinda Chintana is the only policy document in which the country was introduced as a unitary State after the seeds of terrorism were sown in the Sri Lankan soil.

He reminisced how the UNP leaders scoffed when the Government promised a fertilizer bag weighing 50kg at Rs 350 at the 2005 Presidential Election.

The President added that the people deprived of their own country and freedom and the Government was able to restore what they lost under the Mahinda Chintana.

Many governments in the country wanted to make the country a carbon copy of another country and some leaders wanted to make Sri Lanka a Singapore, he said.

They tried to plant the Constitution of France and England in Sri Lanka. There were attempts to experiment various solutions adopted to the ethnic conflicts in other countries in Sri Lanka, he said. The President reiterated that the Government under his leadership did not make Sri Lanka a carbon copy of another country.

He said that politics begin from the place where the people converge. President Rajapaksa stressed that he learnt politics from the people by serving them.

The President stressed that the Government will bring freedom, dignified peace and economic development to the country.

He added the Mahinda Chintana helped the country withstand the global economic recession and food crisis.

He said the Government took precautionary measures to cushion the impact of global food shortage and economic recession.

“The country was stable in terms of economy when millions of employees in other countries lost their jobs due to the economic recession, he said.

He commended the services rendered by the working masses to the Government.