UNP ‘Sebewa’ rally a farce claims Marikkar 

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP S.M Marikkar at the  media briefing yesterday shows a video clip of President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the UNP election rally at Kuliyapitiya on Sunday 

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP S.M. Marikkar yesterday said the inaugural United National Party (UNP) rally held in Kuliyapitiya on Sunday was nothing but a farce. 

He alleged that the UNP had gathered its Local Government candidates from across the country to Kuliyapitiya on the day, likening the rally to a farce, akin to the UNP leader’s assertion in 2017 that a Volkswagen assembly plant would be established in Kuliyapitiya.

Marikkar pointed out that despite Wickremesinghe’s extensive travels across the country over the past 17 months and his promises to establish various investment and tourism zones, no tangible progress has been made yet.

“He is a person who raised VAT by 18%, hiked oil prices, inflated electricity bills, escalated the cost of goods and essential services, disrupted the nation’s education and healthcare systems, and facilitated the entry of substandard medicines into the country. And now, he’s appointed as president. Such a leader could sell off our country’s assets, plunging us into a debt trap,” he remarked.

“Despite our opposition to everything he does, we still address President Ranil Wickremesinghe as ‘Sir’ out of respect, even though his speech in Kuliyapitiya was filled with jealousy, hypocrisy, hatred, and anger towards the SJB,” Marikkar added. 

The MP observed that Wickremesinghe stooped so low as to label Prof. G.L. Peiris a ‘Groom of the Stool’, despite Peiris having been one of his teachers in the past. “He is evidently sensing defeat and has lost his composure,” he said. 

Marikkar said the SJB would engage in discussions with the IMF in the near future, emphasizing their commitment to avoiding traps set by Wickremesinghe. He asserted that Wickremesinghe’s calls for meetings with opposition party leaders aimed to integrate the opposition into the IMF deal, a move the SJB intends to resist.

SJB MP also opined that the country especially the future generation need a youthful and dynamic President as Wickremesinghe is too old akin to a grandfather to continue.