By Anuradha Herath Courtesy Ceylon Today

Leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya and Member of Parliament Udaya Gammanpila says that when the Joint Opposition told the President that they would not accept ministerial posts in the new government, he had asked them to at least take over the post of Speaker.

“We agreed to have an internal discussion and arrive at a verdict soon,” he stated.

Following are excerpts:

So all of you were saved because of Mahinda?

A: Most definitely, yes! The leader should be a blessing to the team. A leader should not be a pressure or a burden to a group. The leader of our group was a blessing to the group. It is enough even to mention his name to win an election.

So what you are saying is that without Mahinda Rajapaksa no one would have been able to make it?

A: That is wrong. That is not determined by Mahinda Rajapaksa not being there. By now Prime Minister Ranil and President Sirisena are burdens to those groups. If Mahinda was not there, there would have been another leader. Who will be the next leader…? That will be determined on whether that leader is a blessing or a burden.

What do you feel about this controversial victory?

A: This is a victory that changed history. In the history of Sri Lanka it was the side with State power that always won. The President of the country has never been defeated in his own district. The Prime Minister of the country has never lost his own district. All of that happened at this election. The main reason was that Abraham Lincoln’s saying was confirmed. He said, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

On 8 January, people who were ignorantly in darkness fell into a pit, fell into the same pit at dawn on 17 August. However after daylight fell, people saw the truth and did not fall into that same pit on 10 February.

People who were against accusations of corruption expressed their strong objections to the corruption and economy of the present government. However as the alternative opposed to the government, once again selecting the previous group was a mistake on the part of the people, wasn‘t it?

A: What you say would have been correct if the economy had collapsed by that time and through some chance the accusations targeting Mahinda had been confirmed, and the people joined the previous thieves once again, then your argument would have been successful. You may recall that prior to the elections two powerful accusations of murder were made – Lasantha and Thajudeen. At the same time there was an accusation that 18 billion dollars had been hidden in a Bank in Dubai. A number of accusations like Lamborghinis, gold horses and what not, targeted the Rajapaksas. However during the past three years, not one accusation could be proved. The people realized that. As the Opposition, we accused the Government and fought for three years against those accusations.

Do you believe that with the victory you achieved, you would be able to cover up accusations of corruption targeting many in your camp? There is a very powerful accusation against you regarding a Power-of-Attorney and the case against you is in the process of being heard?

A: If I begin with myself, I have been in politics for 17 years. Nobody in the Opposition had made any accusation against me regarding theft, thuggery or debauchery. It became a serious problem for Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka. There was a sack full of accusations against him. An Australian national was brought to Sri Lanka to get him to say that he did not give me a Power-of-Attorney which was given to me 19 years ago. He had not made any complaint at all over 19 years.

The Court accepted the fact he had not sent me a letter, an email or even an SMS requesting that his money be handed over to him. It has become clearly apparent now in the presence of the Court that he is a false witness. Since I am a defendant in that case, I have no way of expressing my views in public. Mawbima and other media reported those false facts very well.

Even though you put Mahinda forward and won the election there are strong allegations that those who have been elected this time have accusations of abuse against them. Are you going to be responsible for such members?

A: According to the law in our country if someone is found guilty of a crime, they cannot contest at elections. I do not know about accusations against others. Only their conscience is aware of it. It is unfair to paste a label on someone just because there is an accusation. If they had committed any offence it would be the people of the village who would know about it. Therefore until an individual is proven guilty in Court, it should be accepted that he is innocent.

Fortunately the individuals among us who were named thieves are now with Maithripala. They were scared of the law being implemented against them and went seeking protection from the President. I have to say with pleasure that the President cleaned up our side for us.

At the last election Mahinda Rajapaksa received 5.8 million votes. This time that figure has decreased by eight hundred thousand. How can you say that this is a significant victory?

A: Such arguments are presented only by naïve politicians. A person will say you have cleared 20m in long jump. However you have cleared only 2m in high jump. Therefore there is a difference of 18m. If someone asks whether it is not a decline, what that shows is his lack of knowledge on sport. Isn’t that so?

According to the forces which joined together to defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa in January (8) 2015 various arguments are being put forward by now regarding the voter percentages?

A: It was true that these two factions were together in 2015. But this time they contested against each other. The SLFP accused the Prime Minister of being a thief regarding the Treasury Bond scam. The UNP accused the SLFP saying they were pickpockets and snakes. As much as the votes given to the SLFP came to the Flower Bud, votes given to the UNP came into the SLFP as well as the Flower Bud.

All of these cannot be collated. As Mangala and Rajitha say we received only 46%. If that is true then 67% is against the UNP.

The reason is because the UNP received only 33%. The Alliance received 13%. If you consider that, it is Mahinda who has the least opposition.

Even though there is a request asking the government to resign, what was held was the Local Government Elections. You cannot suppress the existing people‘s mandate until 2020, can you?

A: The Presidential Election will not be held in 2020. It has to be held in October 2019. There are only 20 months to go. Why should the President, Prime Minister resign at a Local Government Election? It is the first time in history that neither President nor Prime Minister could not win even a Local Government Election. This is an election that can be won while in power. If that is not possible, anyhow it will not be possible to win any others. That means the mandate is finished.

The reason is because whatever the government does, the people will take to the streets and express their objections. Even if the trust of the majority in the country is broken, the President and Prime Minister can stay on with the objective of a brighter future. However the future of the people in the country is in darkness.

Even if a request is being made to dissolve Parliament, according to the Constitution, it cannot be done until 4 ½ years have lapsed. If that is to be done, a proposal to that effect should be passed in Parliament with a two-thirds majority?

A: I would like to know where that is mentioned. Where does it say that a proposal should be passed with a two-thirds majority?

It is mentioned in the Constitution.

A: The proposal can be passed with a simple majority in Parliament. That means it can be done with the Parliamentary quorum. If there are only 20 present on that day and eleven of them raise their hands in favour, the proposal can be adopted and Parliament dissolved. We say that the government has been defeated and it is finished. Some individuals in the government accept the fact with bowed heads. However, Ministers such as Rajitha Senaratne and Mangala Samaraweera are bringing up hair-splitting arguments that they have not been defeated. If they have not been defeated, they should go and face the people and prove victory. Then no one can say anything at all.

It is clear that Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot contest a Presidential Election. Basil Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa cannot contest because they have American citizenship. Is your goal, another Rajapaksa?

A: Actually in this country there is a group of mature, very clever politicians above and beyond our demand. Such clever leaders do not exist in the government. That is why the government has failed in their mission. However, the request of the country is not to appoint someone from among these persons but to get Gotabaya Rajapaksa to become the next President. It is the majority opinion in the country. There is a big demand for him. But, unfortunately he has not expressed willingness as yet.

If the people have a clear desire for Gotabaya Rajapaksa, then he will express his willingness in the near future…?

A: I think that the people of this country can convince Gotabaya Rajapaksa to contest for the Presidential Election. We believe that Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the Vladimir Putin, Lee-Kuan Yu, Mahathir Mohammed of Sri Lanka. A strong leader with discipline and honesty is required.

Basil Rajapaksa whom you did not appreciate very much then has become a good leader for you all today?

A: Not only Basil Rajapaksa but everyone in this world has good characteristics. They have bad characteristics too. We appreciate good things. We criticize bad things. Basil Rajapaksa was engaged in a powerful role at this election. If we cannot appreciate that we are very insincere.

On the 16th the Joint Opposition (JO) met the President and engaged in a special discussion. What were the decisions taken as a Party…?

A: A group of us including the leader of JO Dinesh Gunawardena met the President. As the Joint Opposition we told the President then that Ranil Wickremesinghe should be removed from his post as Prime Minister and if arrangements are made to appoint a Prime Minister from UPFA, we would support the President.

At that time, the President requested the JO to accept ministerial posts in order to confirm this statement. At that time we stated what was said during the elections was that we would make Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Prime Minister. Therefore we have to respect the mandate we received. And we stated that we will not accept ministerial posts. Then the President asked us at least to take over the post of Speaker. We agree to have an internal discussion and arrive at a verdict. Susil Premajayantha from UPFA and Dinesh Gunawardena from JO were appointed for this purpose. The President also said he would obtain legal advice on appointing a new Prime Minister.

At present there are accusations that the country is unstable. If such problems keep dragging on continuously there will be huge political chaos and confusion…?

A: We trust that the President will make swift decisions.