Saturday, 13 December 2014 00:36
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Lawyers Collective says appalled at election malpractices and fraud
Govt. denies using state resources to skew poll
The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) yesterday condemned its former Deputy General Secretary Udaya Gammanpilla’s decision to rejoin the Government and rejected claims his move was based on a policy decision.
JHU Leader Omalpe Sobitha Thero said Gammanpila’s crossover was purely a “personal decision” and it was doubtful on what basis he was compelled to make such a hasty move.
Addressing a media briefing at the JHU headquarters in Battaramulla, Sobitha Thero pointed out that when the agreement between Maithirpala Sirisena and the JHU was signed, Gammapila never objected or showed any indication that he was against it. “We had 100% approval from the Central Working Committee to go ahead with the MoU. It is after ten days of signing the agreement that Gammanpila has made these claims. Two days ago when I asked him whether he had any problems Gammanpila said he had no issues,” he added.
Three weeks ago the JHU withdrew from the Government and later announced their decision to support the common opposition candidate at the upcoming presidential election.
JHU confused...
On Wednesday, Gammanpila attended a SLFP media briefing and stated he would resign from the party and support Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“If there was any indication from Gammanpila that he was against this, I would have never let this agreement take place,” Sobitha Thero stressed.
Meanwhile, JHU General Secretary Patali Champika Ranawaka told reporters that for the past nine years they have been evaluating both the good and bad of this Government.
“The country’s economy has collapsed, there is a serious question of good governance and there is corruption and malpractice. We first submitted our proposals to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Secondly, we submitted them to the common candidate. This system needs to change. Just because people jump from one place to another and sling mud at others we should not lose hope.”
