A vehicle parade organised by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) would kick off from Trincomalee on April 26 and would arrive in Colombo on May 1 to flex muscle on the party's May Day celebrations, an MP said.

MP Kanchana Wijesekara said the parade, consisting of those who are against the government, would reach Anuradhapura from Trincomalee on the first day.

“We will travel from Anuradhapura to Dambulla on April 27, then to Kurunegala, to Divulapitiya and then to Orugodawatta. On May Day, we will gather at Campbell Park in Colombo to show our opposition to the government," he said.

The SLPP had paid and reserved the Campbell Park in March as the United National Party (UNP), which usually hold its May Day rally at the venue, did not reserve it this year.

MP Wijesekara meanwhile said the government was engaged in a political witch hunt against its opponents. “The government has misused parliament and various commissions to draft laws to prevent Mahinda Rajapaksa from contesting again for the presidency. The provincial council election was postponed for two years. Not even the so called independent Elections Commission can order elections to be held today," he said.(Lahiru Pothmulla)