UNP misleading Colombo voters - Deputy minister

Nadira Gunatilleke

“The UDA conducted a survey recently. There were certain questions in that survey. The UNP used this survey to mislead the people and fabricate stories,” Science and Technology Deputy Minister Faizer Mustapha told the Daily News yesterday.

“The President and the Defence Secretary very clearly stated that the people living in slums have their lifestyle attached to the locality and therefore nothing will be done to change it or shift them because their lifestyle and daily routine (schooling, employment etc)can be affected by doing so,” he said.

According to the deputy minister this is a government that feel the pulse of the people, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa recently met the Association of the Clergy of the Muslims and clarified all the issues regarding the Muslim community. For example the Defence Secretary very clearly stated that the Muslims can wear their scull caps for photographs for the National Identity Card. He said no order has been given to the contrary. The UNP and the Opposition use a lot of fabricated lies and false propaganda to create friction among Tamil and Muslim communities to woo them.

This is not the time to play the ethnic card because we suffered for over 30 years before achieving peace. The UNP has a Western approach and bend to a pro-west foreign policy. The UNP says they do not need the support of the Central Government to develop Colombo. But at present the Central Government and the Western Provincial Council is under the UPFA. CMC comes under the Provincial Council and functioning alone will only be a dream, he said.

President Rajapaksa fought for the rights of the Palestinian people when he was only an MP. He is loved by the Palestinian people. He is loved by the Arab world. He believes that all communities are equal. He or Moragoda never practised racial policies. President Rajapaksa very clearly stated that he wants to make the lives of the people of Colombo beautiful and not just the city. To do this the UDA is to build 35,000 houses in Colombo within a period of three years. This is to beautify the lives of the people of Colombo. That is why the UNP fears, he added.