{"id":57849,"date":"2016-08-21T15:54:09","date_gmt":"2016-08-21T22:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=57849"},"modified":"2016-08-21T15:54:09","modified_gmt":"2016-08-21T22:54:09","slug":"slfp-already-split-basil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2016\/08\/21\/slfp-already-split-basil\/","title":{"rendered":"SLFP already split \u2013 Basil"},"content":{"rendered":"

By W.K. Prasad Manju\u00a0Courtesy Ceylon Today<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

? Some say the Pada Yathra alarmed the government. Some others say it was not as successful as the organizers claimed it to be. What is your view?<\/strong>
\nA: Jana Satana Pada Yathra was one of the events in the agenda of the anti-government forces of the Joint Opposition. That was just one step in our quest to safeguard our country. We have to consider whether the main objective of the Pada Yathra has been achieved before we decide whether it was successful or not.
\nI think the Pada Yathra had a great impact on the government in assessing whether the path they are taking is right or wrong.<\/p>\n

? How did you contribute to this march?
\n<\/strong>A: It was organized by the combined anti-government forces of the Joint Opposition. I was assigned to rally the local government representatives, and I think it was successfully done.<\/p>\n

? Some local government representatives said the organizing of the march had been completed before you were taken into custody. Is it true?
\n<\/strong>A: I was not in charge of organizing the entire Pada Yathra. I was given only one task. And I believe I fulfilled that task successfully.<\/p>\n

? Were you ready to walk all the way from Kandy to Colombo in the Jana Satana Pada Yathra?<\/strong>
\nA: I am not as strong, either mentally or physically, as former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. But, I had planned to walk at least some distance in the Pada Yathra.
\n? But, as soon as you were remanded, you were transferred to hospital. Some question how you were planning to walk if your health was failing?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I was hospitalized under medical advice. I stayed in the hospital several days under medical advice even after I was bailed out. Fate decides the health and no one can avoid it.<\/p>\n

? Do you have an illness which requires prolonged medical care?<\/strong>
\nA: I have been undergoing medical treatment for the last six years in the US. After I returned to Sri Lanka this time, I could not go for treatments for the past one and half years. Now I am treated by local doctors.
\nI was not given the opportunity to see my family for one and half years. Both my family and I are having a hard time about it. I have no judicial permission to go abroad. The first birthday of my second daughter’s baby fell last Tuesday. I haven’t still seen that baby.<\/p>\n

? Don<\/strong>‘t your children ask you to give up all this and come to them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: My wife and three children live in the US. All three children are married and they have kids. I will be here as long as former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is in politics, no more.<\/p>\n

? Will Mahinda Rajapaksa contest the 2020 general election as the prime ministerial candidate? Or is there a plan to change the power dynamics in the present Parliament and grab power?<\/strong>
\nA: We are working according to a plan to save the country. The first priority is avoiding damage and protecting the country. After that we have other plans, which will not be revealed for the moment.<\/p>\n

? President Maithripala Sirisena recently said while the ordinary people have no help when they are sent to jail, the politicians are admitted to hospital as soon as they are remanded. He also said it would be necessary to build a prison hospital.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: That is a good proposal. He said this before the professionals including the Chief Justices of Asia. Not only me but several officials remanded with me are treated in the hospital. If the President targeted me in this statement, it was not a good thing to do.<\/p>\n

? Do you have any political deal with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe?<\/strong>
\nA: Neither President Maithripala Sirisena nor Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have met me after the presidential election of 8 January 2015. We might have chatted when we met at a wedding or a funeral. But, there is no political deal. I have not talked to them over the phone or by way of another person.<\/p>\n

? Do you accept President Maithripala Sirisena as leader of the SLFP?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: No.
\n? Why?<\/strong>
\nA: I will be in politics as long as former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is in politics. I will only acknowledge the leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa. On the day President Maithripala Sirisena was appointed SLFP leader, I quit the post of national organizer of the SLFP.<\/p>\n

? Did Mahinda Rajapaksa hand over the party reins on his own volition or did President Sirisena insist that he wanted the leadership? What happened in truth?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I was in the US then. Therefore, I don’t actually know what happened then. I don’t say either giving or assuming the position of party leader is wrong.<\/p>\n

? Do you still have the SLFP membership?<\/strong>
\nA: I don’t know. One person has told a newspaper that my membership had been terminated. I have obtained the membership after paying the annual membership fee.
\n? You are accused of being under a contract of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to split the SLFP?<\/strong>
\nA: There is nothing more to split the SLFP. It is already split.
\n? Who is responsible for that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: President Sirisena initiated that. There were two phases. One was weakening the party. The other was splitting. Weakening started with the quitting of the SLFP General Secretary. Then he removed the General Secretary of the UPFA two days ahead of the general election. The split of the party started with that. President Sirisena created a number of problems by changing the electoral organizer positions and the national list of the party. Some 40 electoral organizers were removed this week. The ones who gained the highest preferential votes have been removed. Mahinda Rajapaksa follows the genuine SLFP policies. All party members are with him. The party is where the members and the policies are. That is the party.<\/p>\n

? It is the UNP that stands to benefit more from a split within the SLFP. Hence, fingers may point at you for instigating such a split and benefiting the UNP in the long run. Can you respond?
\n<\/strong>A: No. I saw a beautiful newspaper advertisement. It said that the UNP anniversary would be held under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. It is like President Sirisena is also the leader of the UNP. That shows where the deal is.<\/p>\n

? But, didn<\/strong>‘t former President Rajapaksa try to come to an agreement with the UNP at one point to gain the parliamentary majority to win the war?<\/strong>
\nA: Yes. A strong Parliament was necessary to defeat terrorism. President Rajapaksa invited all parties for that. Discussions were held to come to an agreement with the UNP. But, that party was not honest. Therefore, 17 MPs led by Karu Jayasuriya joined the government. It was not a national government. The policies implemented were of the SLFP and the UPFA. But, the present government implements only the UNP policies.<\/p>\n

? Did former President Rajapaksa act to protect Ranil Wickremesinghe when his leadership was challenged within the party?<\/strong>
\nA: Whatever is said, the official Opposition Leader was duly respected by former President Rajapaksa.<\/p>\n

? Wasn<\/strong>‘t there a political deal between Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mahinda Rajapaksa?<\/strong>
\nA: No. Political deals exist only now. I explained it earlier. All heads of State were cordial with the Opposition Leader of the time. Likewise, former President Rajapaksa dealt with the then Opposition Leader Wickremesinghe.<\/p>\n

? In such a backdrop, is it wrong that the present government reached an agreement with the opposition?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Discussing certain facts is not wrong. But, the present Opposition Leader was selected by the government. Although the opposition must vote against the budget, they voted in favour of it. How can such things happen? Opposition Chief Whip, JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayaka was the main critic of the Joint Opposition’s Pada Yathra. They are the real deals. The TNA also criticized it even though it was not relevant to them. Pada Yathra was not against the TNA or the JVP. It was against the government. Why do the TNA and the JVP worry about that?<\/p>\n

? When Ranil Wickremesinghe was the Opposition Leader, the UNP headquarters Sirikotha was attacked. Didn<\/strong>‘t former President Rajapaksa upset the attack by closing the road?<\/strong>
\nA: Some say so, but some others allege that former President Rajapaksa split the UNP. Which of these two is correct? They must stick to one. Former President Rajapaksa’s view was that the UNP should be a strong opposition party.<\/p>\n

? Are the Rajapaksas feeling the brunt of safeguarding the leadership of Ranil Wickremesinghe?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: We don’t expect anybody’s help in return. We act against this government. You can see what we have gained from being anti-government. Rajapaksas are given it their maximum. But, we see Wickremesinghe is treating the Opposition Leader he has appointed quite well.<\/p>\n

? Even former President Rajapaksa looked after the Opposition Leader of his time very well.<\/strong>
\nA: There is no fault in doing that. Ranil Wickremesinghe is looking after the Opposition Leader better than Mahinda Rajapaksa did. The leadership of the opposition was not given to the majority party in the opposition and it was given to Sampanthan by this government. Therefore, they must look after the welfare of the Opposition Leader. We see Sampanthan returning the favour.<\/p>\n

? What do you say about the serious allegations against the Rajapaksas on corruption?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: All these charges aimed at mudslinging will be proved false in Court. These are only revengeful acts. I am not accused of soliciting bribes. I am accused of bribing the common people. I paid compensations, housing and flag posts etc. The allegation is about distributing goods to the poor people. I don’t like to speak about them more than this because they are being examined in Courts.<\/p>\n

? The government confiscated some of your property.<\/strong>
\nA: There is no land in Kaduwela or Malwana under my name. None of my property has been confiscated. If they plan to confiscate my land in future, it will be political reprisal.<\/p>\n

? There is a rumour about a house in Matara?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: The land in Matara is my younger sister’s. I have no connection to it. I don’t like to speak about it because this matter too is in Court now.<\/p>\n

? If the Rajapaksas are accused falsely like this, why don<\/strong>‘t they take legal action?<\/strong>
\nA: All these facts are being discussed with the lawyers. I must also say that one has vowed to convert a property belonging to one of my relations into a hotel school. That person built a hotel on a land belonging to the Coastal Conservation Department. When it was about to be taken over by the government, it was stopped. Such people make false charges against us now. That person’s hotel is suitable for a hotel school.<\/p>\n

? S.B. Dissanayaka is being criticized for trying to whitewash your acts of distributing flag posts to local government bodies.<\/strong>
\nA: As the subject Minister, S.B. Dissanayaka replied in Parliament that it was not wrong. Dissanayaka said another thing under the influence of another. I know why those influences were made. I don’t have connections with S.B. Dissanayaka other than that.<\/p>\n

? Will you participate in the 65th anniversary celebrations of the SLFP?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: No.<\/p>\n

? Will former President Rajapaksa take part?<\/strong>
\nA: I have no idea about that. You must ask President Mahinda Rajapaksa.<\/p>\n

? Is the rumour about a new political party true?<\/strong>
\nA: Not a new political party. We will form a new anti-government political force. No one can stop it. This political force will win the next local government election definitely.<\/p>\n

? Who will lead it?<\/strong>
\nA: Thousands of people who love this country will lead it. We will invite former President Rajapaksa also to join it.<\/p>\n

? Will it split the SLFP?<\/strong>
\nA: This is not about splitting the party or forming a new party. This is about formation of an anti-government political force uniting political parties, trade unions, professionals, civil organizations and intellectuals. The SLFP is also a part of this.<\/p>\n

? Will a new force be advantageous to the UNP?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: We are the most powerful section of the opposition. We will win the fight to be the strongest among the strong. I will tell you an important fact. The government must decide to split or not in the future.
\nThat is, splitting the group who contested under the Swan symbol. We are closely monitoring the developments. But, the opposition will not break. Our political force is ready to face them even if they contest as a Swan alliance or separately. Will those who hold anniversaries together divide in the local government election? We have to ask that question from the present government.
\n? Is a group trying to make peace between President Sirisena and former President Rajapaksa?<\/strong>
\nA: I don’t know. One was repeatedly attacking. The other appears to be sympathetic and visiting the temples.<\/p>\n

? Will Gotabaya Rajapaksa contest under the new political alliance?<\/strong>
\nA: I have no idea.<\/p>\n

? Do you believe in astrology?<\/strong>
\nA: Not a strong believer.<\/p>\n

? Haven<\/strong>‘t astrologers told you that you have the chance to be king?<\/strong>
\nA: They did not even tell me that I would be jailed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By W.K. Prasad Manju\u00a0Courtesy Ceylon Today ? Some say the Pada Yathra alarmed the government. Some others say it was not as successful as the organizers claimed it to be. What is your view? A: Jana Satana Pada Yathra was one of the events in the agenda of the anti-government forces of the Joint Opposition. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57849\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}