Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) chief Patali Champika Ranawaka is urging the United National Party to resolve its internal issues soon or they would lose the Presidential polls.
The Minister of Megapolis who is also a UNP ally said they should announce the new alliance and the presidential candidate as soon as possible before the “democratic fortress they created gets destroyed.”
Speaking to media this morning (22 Aug) at a Media conference in Colombo, Ranawaka added that if the UNP fails to make the announcement about the alliance and the candidate on time JHU would seek an alternative.
Further, he said that people had got angry and moved away from the current government because the Yahapalana government failed to bring those who are accused of fraud and corruption before the law as promised.
Another reason he said is because that the government failed to act quickly in response to the religious tensions that were created after Easter attacks.
“People now have distrust and fear towards the government, so they want a new alliance with a new candidate and an agenda that can give new hope to the country,” he added.
Ranawaka said that every problem and concern that arose about the new alliance from various parties were sorted out in an amicable way at the meeting held last Saturday and that all the party leaders in the new alliance had come to an agreement about the name of the alliance its sign, office, General Secretary, leadership, leadership committee, method of selecting a candidate and the way of facing the general election in the future.
” We worked on a broader alliance for the past one and half years and was hoping to announce on May day but due to the easter attacks we could not do it,” Ranawaka said.
While congratulating NPP common candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake for his way forward the minister said that AKD does not have the capabilities to defeat the Rajapaksa regime.
Further, he said that people cannot keep hopes on the Rajapaksa regime about democracy, saving the country from foreign debts and about giving place to skills as “Rajapaksas had come with old faces, old ways and with a much more dangerous face,” he added.
(Republic Next)