RANIL WICKREMESINGHE’S FORMER COLLEAGUE QUESTIONS WHY DID THE UNP LEADER LEAVE FOR BHUTAN AFTER PREDICTING ELECTIONS IN APRIL.

By Walter Jayawardhana

Ranil Wickremesinghe , the leader of Opposition was predicting publicly that the government would collapse in the month of April and the President of the country would be compelled to to call general elections. But surprisingly Wickremesinghe had left the country and touring in Bhutan. If the General Elections are round the corner why is he out of the country until the end of the month questioned Minister Rajitha Senaratne , and member of the UNP reformist group.

Rajitha Senaratne was addressing a public function of the Batahena Gramodaya Society meeting in Morontuduwa Wadduwa to declare open a rural housing project.

He said as his former cabinet colleague and leader Ranil Wickremesinghe over and over again was thought to be the victor before every election but never became the victor in reality because he was rejected by te country and never accepted by the common people.

Senaratne said Wickremesinghe always brought disappointment to people like him and the rest of the UNP members and with leaders like him they were going nowhere.

He asked what kind of leaders would predict elections , give false hopes to the members and would not even stay in the country during the period he was predicting the elections are coming.
Senaratne said it was very necessary for politicians like him to join the government of President Rajapaksa because he wanted to do some work for his voters.

He said for instance the government was implementing a program called Gama Neguma under which parliamentarians were given fifty million rupees to develop rural roads, electrification, water supply , school buildings, community centers, libraries to the rural sector of the economy. He said he had to be with the government to implement such schemes and help his electors.

Speaking as a former member of the group led by Ranil Wickremesinghe , he said under the present generations of youth there are no people who boast that if you cut yourself you bleed green, the color of the party of the UNP. He said today, people want governments that could help the common man and that was the reason he left Ranil Wickremesinghe and joined the government.

Meanwhile the Information Department issued a statement contradicting a news story published in a pro-UNP newspaper that said President Rajapaksa also would leave the country during the Sinhalese New Year on vacation. The Department of Information said President Rajapaksa would not leave the country during the Sinhala and Hindu new year period and he will definitely celebrate the new year with his countrymen and the armed forces who are fighting the country’s enemies.
The statement said the misleading story had been definitely written to misinform at the behest of the masters of the newspaper