Minister Sirisena accepts challenge
Disna MUDALIGE
Health Minister and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary
Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said that he willingly accepts UNP
General Secretary Tissa Attanayake’s challenge to prove his (minister’s)
statement on the betrayal of Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe
during the Presidential Election in 1994.
Addressing an SLFP press conference at the Mahaweli Centre, the
minister stated that this fact is nothing new to those who were actively
involved in the Presidential election where UNP candidate Gamini
Dissanayake and PA candidate Chandrika Kumaratunga contested.
He added that he could not be responsible over the plight of the UNP
in the aftermath of this disclosure in public, adding that he has no
hesitation to bring out this betrayal in detail. He noted that it is an
unwise challenge at the worst time from the part of the UNP.
Sirisena observed that he had made this revelation in almost all the
previous presidential election campaigns since 1994, but it is only this
time it received big publicity in the media.
The minister noted that after this statement he has received a number
of telephone calls and letters from powerful UNP members stating that
they would also like to unveil the facts they know to prove this
incident. He said that the internal struggle in the UNP would turn more
aggressive following the disclosure.
The minister also stated that he has written evidence including the
statements of former police personnel to prove his statement. He said
that he had been in charge of the unit set up to obtain secret
information pertaining to the Opposition during the PA election campaign
in 1994.
Responding to MP Attanayake’s statement, the minister also noted that
he is proud even to be a peon in the SLFP, than being a General
Secretary in the UNP, based non the political ideology he respects.
Sirisena also noted that he spoke of a political issue and not a
personal issue when he referred to the conduct of the Opposition Leader
at the 1994 presidential election.
Ports and Highways Deputy Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena said that
the UNP leadership convinced of the defeat at the elections has
centralized his powers instead of facilitating a power devolution within
the party. He observed that alternative groups of the UNP are contesting
the elections as independent groups to challenge their party leadership.
These groups are not competing with the government, but with the UNP.
Their intention is to see a humiliating defeat for the UNP he said.
Speaking at the press conference Urban Affairs Senior Minister A H M
Fowzie said that the Muslim community has joined hands with the
President more than ever before, adding that 80 percent of the votes of
Muslims would be received by the UPFA at the upcoming Provincial Council
elections.
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