Tissa lashes out at UPFA

September 18, 2012, 11:49 pm

by Zacki Jabbar

The UPFA government had unethically grabbed control of the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) without considering the wishes of a majority of the people in the Province, the UNP said yesterday.

UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake, addressing a news conference in Colombo, said that the conduct of the Rajapaksa regime was a continuation of its policy of paying lip service to democracy, while distorting the voters’ choice.

The UPFA had got only about 200,000 votes at the September 8 election to the EPC, while 400,000 people voted against it. This was a clear indication that the majority of the voters did not want a UPFA administration. But, it has grabbed control of the EPC, while totally disregarding their verdict, he noted.

Attanayake said that the government was resorting to its old tactics, previous examples of which include the buying over of MPs and Provincial Councillors to take control of decision making bodies and rushing 18th Amendment through Parliament.

To the credit of the candidates who were elected on the Tamil National Alliance ticket, they had rejected all offers by the Rajapaksa regime, including millions of rupees, houses, lands and luxury vehicles in bribes. It showed that they were not prepared to sell their soul for a mess of pottage, Attanayake observed.

Attanayake said that in contrast the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) which secured seven seats had left its supporters in the lurch. Instead of respecting the protest votes that had been lodged against the Rajapaksa regime, the SLMC leadership has placed positions and perks above principles.

The UNP was willing to extend its support for an all party Eastern Provincial Council administration, but the government should honour its election pledges without resorting to time buying and time wasting tactics, for which it has an excellent reputation, he noted.

The UNP, he said, had decided to nominate K. Nelson for the post of North Western Provincial Council Opposition leader and Thusitha Wijemanna Opposition leader of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council.