• The people of this country are honoured to have a national  leader in the calibre of Sajith Premadasa

By Sandun A. Jayasekera

Though some opposition political parties in their sheer  jealousy and abhorrence blame the opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya  (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa for his massive social welfare and poverty  alleviation programme launched around the country, millions of voters  and the SJB are proud, appreciative and supportive for his admirable and  meritorious projects, national organizer of the SJB Tissa Attanayake  said yesterday.  

“In a country where a vast majority of politicians are  accused and convicted for corruption, bribery, violence and other  numerous misdeeds, yes, we are extremely proud of his honesty,  integrity, exemplary behaviour and service to the poorest of poor and  marginalized. The people of this country are honoured to have a national  leader in the calibre of Sajith Premadasa when other political leaders  and rulers have been accused of bank robberies, incompetency,  mismanagement and negligence of duty that led to terrorist attacks  killing hundreds of innocent civilians. It is a great relief to have a  political party leader among us who rejects the Prime Minister’s post  offered to him in contravention of the Constitution when other political  leaders are ready to kill or even betray the country and nation to grab  power,” Mr. Attanayake said.  

The JVP with a dark and destructive past is highly  disturbed about the unparalleled popularity of Sajith in the length and  breadth of the country. The JVP leaders scoff at Sajith’s “Husma” and  ‘Aakwala’ and other social welfare programmes that have distributed  nearly 70 brand-new buses, laboratory, sports gear and IT equipment  among needy schools and students, stocks of life-saving medicinal drugs  and medical equipment to hospitals worth billions of rupees in addition  to cash donations made in silence to various organizations and poor and  helpless families.  

“We can understand the confusion and fear in the JVP. This  is a political party that has made a major contribution to the current  political and socio-economic mess in this country. This is the  political party that has destroyed 553 CTB buses, 15 CTB depots and workshops and 113 vehicles  owned by politicians. The JVP also has  destroyed various foreign construction projects,” Mr. Attanayake  stressed.  

During their reign of terror started in 1971, they have  destroyed or set fire to hundreds of agrarian service centres, 76 houses  of police officers, homes of Indian businessmen. They have brutally  killed politicians, popular teledrama, film and music artistes,  University lecturers and vice chancellors, journalists, academics, armed  forces and police personnel and thousands of innocent civilians only  because they held a different political ideology to them. The value of  destruction caused to the national economy by the JVP has not been fully  estimated to date, but there is no doubt that the current predicament in  the country has a direct impact on the destruction caused by the JVP.  

The SLPP levels the accusing finger at the JVP directly for  the terror campaign launched on May 9 on SLPP parliamentarians, arson  attacks on houses of 72 MPs, ministers and state ministers and other  violence.   
“What is the guarantee that the JVP will not resort to the  same terror tactics if it could not record an electoral success - which  is quite obvious - at the forthcoming polls. The JVP is still to admit  its past sins and apologize to the nation. Therefore, the SJB demands an apology by the JVP  to the nation and assurance that it will not go back  to terrorism under any circumstances after the LG polls,” Mr. Attanayake  stressed.       

• During their reign of terror started in 1971, they have  destroyed or set fire to hundreds of agrarian service centres, 76 houses  of police officers, homes of Indian businessmen