Opposition unity did not last even a month after elections: Alahapperuma

The United National Party and the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) have neglected its voters who voted for them at the Presidential election on January 26, the ruling Freedom Alliance’s Transport Minister Dulles Alahapperuma said yesterday.

Minister Alahapperuma, addressing the media personnel at the Mahaweli Centre, Colombo, said that the unity of the so-called common opposition had ended even before one full month of the presidential election. “Both the parties even just after the elections were seen on same platform together making allegations against the government. They said it was not a free and fair election and further they also claimed that they got around 51, 00,000 votes at the elections”, the Minister said.

Minister questioned both the parties “if they actually claimed a voter base of over 51, 00,000 why did they leave out the “Swan’ symbol” and go for new options. At the same time, the Minister pointed out that with their decision to contest the general elections as two separate fronts “they have badly neglected the voters who voted for them at the presidential elections”.

Minister Alahapperuma further questioned why the Opposition is refraining from expressing any view on the money fraud of Danuna Thilekaratne during last two months. “The Opposition was talking about good governance and many other things. They had very bad topics such as how to remove suits of lawyers, how to punish the Rajapaksa family members. But they did not utter a word about the case which whole the country was looking at”, the Minister said.

UPFA’s General Secretary Minister Susil Premajayantha who joined with Minister Alahapperuma said that the Opposition did not have a clear vision or a policy from the very beginning when they set foot for the presidential elections. Now the situation is worst and they have lost all their ways and means to face the general elections”, Minister Premajayantha added.

- Asian Tribune -