Retired Army Chief General Sarath Fonseka yesterday said that he would ensure constitutional amendments to prevent MPs from switching their allegiance for personal gain. Responding to The Island queries at yesterday's press conference, he said that action would be taken to prevent crossovers from one party to another, thereby causing political instability.

Both the government and the Opposition have accused each other of bribing their members to switch sides.

Fonseka said many government rankers had pledged their support to help overthrow the Rajapaksa regime as they, too, did not like what was taking place.

He claimed that UPFA dissidents were in touch with the Opposition though they had not so far revealed their hand.

He criticised President Rajapaksa for failing to keep his promise made in the run up to the last presidential election to abolish the executive presidency during his first term.

The war veteran warned the government that he could not be discouraged by throwing mud at him while vowing to go ahead with his campaign until he achieved victory. Fonseka said in the aftermath of their great victory over the LTTE, the country needed a change and he could pave the way for that.

Asked whether he would have called off the offensive on May 16, three days before the army declared LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran dead, due to foreign and domestic pressure, Fonseka said that at that time they were at a point of no return. He said that they could not reverse the military action at that stage.

Fonseka also welcomed the deployment of foreign election observers while emphasising that the war could have been won, even under the leadership of an executive prime minister.

He acknowledged that one of the primary reasons for their failure to finish off the LTTE earlier was the absence of an overall strategy. He said offensives were undertaken at the expense of other security requirements as in the case of withdrawing troops from the East to liberate the Jaffna peninsula. Declining to comment in detail on his economic plans, Fonseka said the UNP had the experience to develop the economy.

He denied allegations levelled against his son-in-law in relation to millions of US dollars worth procurement of arms, ammunition and equipment. He insisted that his son-in-law had no involvement in the procurement and he as the former Commander of the Army was never involved in negotiations.