(Lanka-e-News -15.July.2015, 7.30PM) While stressing that he will continue to stand against former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said that Rajapaksa will be defeated again as he was defeated on January 8.
The President said he will form a government with the victorious political parties after August 17 election to fullfill the aspirations of the people who voted for a change on January 8. The President said that he has no intention of appointing Rajapaksa as Prime Minister.
“I will continue to give leadership to the change ushered on January 8 with the newly elected members after the General election,” President Sirisena said.
President Sirisena added that he will take a neutral stand at the upcoming pols.
The President made these comments speaking to media on the current political developments at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday afternoon.
Breaking his silence on the new political developments since giving nominations to Rajapaksa, the President went on to say that if the SLFP led UPFA win the election there are several deserving senior politicians who can be appointed as Prime Minister.
“Former President Rajapaksa is trying to block the opportunity of deserving seniors. He is the only President in the country to have been defeated at an election. All the others went home honourably after completing a maximum of two terms” he added.
The President said that he had repeatedly refused demands by UPFA leaders to give nominations to the former President, appoint him as the Prime Ministerial candidate or the district leader.
However, the President said that an overwhelming majority of the UPFA had demanded that the former President be given nominations. “Then, I was left with two options. One is to resign from the party leadership. But, if I had done that Mahinda Rajapaksa would have had his way. Immediately, he would have become the leader of the party and would have given nominations to only his people, leaving out all those who supported me as the common candidate,” he added.
The President went on to say that it would have been easy for him to have broken ranks with the UPFA and contested the polls with a group from the SLFP and added that however this was not fit for a President.
The President said that if denied nominations, the Rajapaksa group had drawn up all plans necessary to contest from another party. “Anyway, they would have entered Parliament,” he added. President Sirisena pointed out that he had not taken the SLFP leadership by force but he was invited to do so by the seniors and the former President himself. However, the President lamented that he was obstructed from carrying his duties as the leader. “If Rajapkasa had remained as the leader of the SLFP he would not have allowed the safe passage of the 19th amendment, would have stood against political reforms and obstructed providing relief to the people” The President said that he had tried his best to develop the SLFPas a party which does not condone fraud, corruption and family rule.
Speaking about the rallies organised by a section of the UPFA, the President said “some UPFA leaders went through out the country holding meetings. “It was not a challenge thrown at the UNP but against me” he added.
In this backdrop the President said that many had the questioned why he was not taking disciplinary action as the leader of the party. “Although, I saw many such acts of indiscipline I had to ignore them like I did not see them. I was very lenient. If I did not do so how would I have worked with a government where the Premier’s party had only 47 seats out of 225 in Parliament?. How would I have got acts passed in parliament, and provided relief to the public” he questioned.
President Sirisena said that he had met the former President for talks in three occasions. The President said he had explained to Rajapaksa that if he contested the polls, the party will loose minority votes, votes of the intellectuals and youth who did not approve family rule and corruption. The President said he had requested his predecessor to stay away from polls.
The President also compared his short rule with a minority government to the ill-fated journey of the luxury passenger ship “Titanic”which sunk on its maiden journey. However, the President said that unlike “Titanic”he was able to guide this ship to safer shores despite overwhelming obstacles.
“To prevent all this, the President said that he had decided to remain in the party leadership, but, allow Rajapaksa to be nominated as a candidate, though he was still opposed to it.
The President pointed out that this decision had led to political analysts, the media and some who supported him at the last Presidential election to attack and describe him as a villain and a betrayer.
He said that this amply demonstrates the blooming of democracy and media freedom in the country. “I think I am the President who has been the most criticised in such a short period. If such criticism had taken place before January 8, then all know what would have happened to such individuals”.
The President said that he was of the strong belief that his actions will be vindicated in the future. He said that he had done all this to protect a minority government which was led by the UNP which had only 47 seats in Parliament out of 225 and implement what was promised in the 100 Days programme.
Speaking on the 18th Amendment, President Sirisena went on to say that the former President Rajapaksa had brought it with the intention of denying opportunity for others to be the leader of the country.
President Sirisena went on to say that his preference after winning the polls on January 8 was to dissolve Parliament on January 10 and go for general elections to appoint a fresh Parliament and added that the 100 Day programme was designed by the political parties and groups which supported him.
As promised, the President said he had made UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe the Premier as soon as he was sworn in and succeeded in implementing the 100 Days programme that included the 19th Amendment to curtail excessive powers of the Executive Presidency.
The President said that when the No-Confidence Motion was brought against Prime Minister Wickremasinghe, there was a plan by the Rajapaksa loyalists to bring the former President back to Parliament through the National List and form a new government The President said he had to dissolve parliament to prevent that.
President Sirisena said despite many obstacles, the government formed on January 8 provided benefits to people, salary increase to public servants, reduce prices of essential consumer goods, take steps to reduce powers of the President and transfer them to Parliament through the 19th Amendedmnt.
However, he lamented that the failure to bring electoral reforms through the 20th Amendment, the National Audit Act and the right to information act as set backs.
He said the preferential vote system brought through the Constitution in 1978 had corrupted the political system.
The President said that his role in the general election is to ensure a free and fair election and added that he would extend his fullest support to the Elections Commissioner, Police and the government officials for that purpose. “I will remain impartial in the coming election and urge the people to select those who are suitable to march forward with me to fullfill the January 8 mandate,” he added. The President said he will take forward the transformation that began on January 8 and fullfill the promises made. President Sirisena appealed to the media not to misuse the media freedom and enjoy the blooming of democratic rights and media freedom in the country.
-By Rasika Somarathna from Daily News-
Video as follows
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