Dilan says Mahinda lost last election because of Basil Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) spokesman Dilan Perera says former President Mahinda Rajapaksa lost the last Presidential election because of his brother Basil Rajapaksa.

Speaking at a public event in Hali-Ela, Perera said that Basil Rajapaksa fled the country as soon as Mahinda Rajapaksa lost the election.

“We were with Mahinda Rajapaksa. We did not abandon him. But he (Basil Rajapaksa) fled within 24 hours,” Perera said. He said that former Minister Wimal Weerawansa was quoted in the media as saying that Basil Rajapaksa worked with India’s RAW agency to ensure Mahinda Rajapaksa lost the election.

Perera also said that Basil Rajapaksa returned to the country and attempted to divide the Sri Lanka Freedom Party ahead of the last Parliamentary election but failed.

He said despite some opposition, the UPFA allowed Mahinda Rajapaksa to contest the Parliamentary elections last year under the UPFA symbol.

Perera says Basil Rajapaksa is now making another attempt to split the SLFP by becoming the secretary of a new political party.

However he says SLFP members will not allow Basil Rajapaksa to split the party and he urged all SLFP members to support the unity in the party. (Colombo Gazette)