UPFA says Ranil should drink poison over “highway robbery”

By Chamodi Gunwardana

The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) yesterday said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe should drink poison over the robbery they claimed he had perpetrated through the Central Expressway project.

Attacking Wickremesinghe and several other United National Party (UNP) members, UPFA Media Committee Chairman and former Minister Dilan Perera said that they should drink poison according to the Convenor of the National Movement for Social Justice, Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero. 

“Sobitha Thero said that if any politician or Government official had robbed public funds it was better that they drank poison. We claim that Wickremesinghe has taken public money though the newly launched Central Expressway project. Now we believe that he should follow the opinion of Sobitha Thero,” Perera noted.

Displaying five bottles of poison to the media, Perera added that the UPFA had a list of people who should drink poison along with Wickremesinghe. 

Perera said the people on this list were Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, who he accused of using underworld gangs, Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran for his involvement in the Central Bank bond scam and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Uva Province Chief Minister Harin Fernando for perpetrating election violence.  

Commenting on the commencement of construction work on the Central Expressway, Perera said that Wickremesinghe had violated election rules and regulations by addressing the gathering at the opening ceremony.  “According to election regulations, no candidate can address the public at a state occasion. However, Wickremesinghe spoke to the public and said that the Government had reduced the UPFA-estimated cost of this project by 50%. We are confidently saying that it was absolutely rubbish,” Perera alleged.

Pointing out the figures of the Central Expressway project, Perera claimed that the UNP Government’s estimated cost for construction was higher than the past Government’s estimate. 

“We estimated Rs.3.36 billion per kilometre. However, the Government has estimated it as Rs.4.5 billion. The total cost of the expressway has been estimated at Rs.145.9 billion. We believe that this project can be completed for Rs. 120 billion. It means that Rs. 26 billion has been frozen somewhere,” Perera stated.

Attacking the statement made by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, UPFA Colombo District candidate Udaya Gammanpila said that if Dissanayaka really had evidence relating to the death of rugby player Wasim Thajudeen then he should provide it to the police. “Dissanayaka has alleged that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son was responsible for Thajudeen’s death. If he knows this for certain then he should provide his supporting evidence to the police and help them with their investigation. If not he should keep his mouth shut,” Gammanpila said.

He went on to say that it was better if Dissanayaka found out who was responsible for the murder of the late JVP Leader Rohana Wijeweera than focusing on Thajudeen’s death.  

Pic by Shehan Gunasekara