JVP slams President for ‘secret talks’ with Mahinda

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna has reacted strongly to reports that President Maithripala Sirisena held top secret talks with his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa, calling it a violation of the people’s trust.

JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake told a meeting yesterday that even though both President Sirisena and the former President had denied the meeting taking place at the Speaker’s official residence last Thursday, the meeting did take place at a different location.

“Both Rajapaksa and Sirisena issued statements saying they did not meet. They met at President Maithripala Sirisena’s house,” Dissanayake said.

Dissanayake noted that on 8 January the public had voted for Maithripala Sirisena to remove Mahinda Rajapaksa from power.

“Yet now Sirisena is having secret talks with Rajapaksa. This is a betrayal of his election mandate,” he charged.

The JVP Leader claimed that one of the reasons for the negotiations between the pair was to stop the arrests of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) members in order to ensure the SLFP won the parliamentary elections.

The JVP never formally joined the alliance backing the Sirisena candidacy at the January poll but strongly opposed Rajapaksa and backed the campaign from the sidelines.

(Colombo Gazette)