JVP insists President Sirisena is still a traitor

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) today insisted that President Maithripala Sirisena is still a traitor despite the special statement he made this week with regards to the nominations given to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to contest the August 17 Parliament election.

JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was part of the National Executive Council which was headed by Sirisena and appointed after he won the January 8 Presidential election, said that the President cannot wash his hands off the accusations now being leveled against him.

The President, had in the special statement, noted that he never agreed to give Rajapaksa nominations from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) or the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and is not backing him at the election.

Rajapaksa was given nominations to contest the Parliament election from the Kurunegala District by the UPFA which is headed by President Sirisena, but the President said he never agreed to giving Rajapaksa nominations and that the decision was taken by the party leaders in the UPFA.

Dissanayake said that the statement made by the President that he will not back Rajapaksa and that Rajapaksa will lose the election and even if he wins he will not be made Prime Minister, is commendable.

However he said that the President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, through their coalition Government, had failed to ensure Rajapaksa could not return to politics once again.

The JVP leader accused the President and the Prime Minister of using their time in office over the past six months, to fulfill their own agendas.

He said that the?SLFP is now being controlled by a small group who are keen on ensuring Rajapaksa returns to power, this time as the Prime Minister.

Dissanayake invited the SLFP members who are keen on defeating Rajapaksa at the Parliament election to join hands with the JVP to achieve that goal. (Colombo Gazette)