NPP government will clean the stinking political arena – Anura Dissanayake
The NPP government will clean up the stinking political arena, says Anura Dissanayake, the leader of the National People’s Power.
He emphasized this while addressing the National People’s Force’s People’s Rally organized by the NPP at Kabethigollawa.
Speaking further, Anura Dissanayake said, “The election will be held on September 21. Even looking at the events of the last few days, you can understand what decision needs to be made. Now, the petals have fallen off the bud. One piece with Namal Rajapaksa. One piece is with Ranil Wickremesinghe, and another is with Sajith Premadasa. That party, which has done a lot of work to break this country, is now broken into pieces. The president of S.J.B. is out of the party. The president of Pohottuwa is inside the S.J.B. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who said, “Ranil is the Central bank thief”, is with Ranil today. Don’t you want to stop this politics of crossing over from one party to another and getting privileges from everywhere? Today, the court decided regarding two S.J.B. M.P.s crossing over to ‘strengthen’ Ranil. Their Parliamentary seats were abolished, and they lost their ministry posts. It is a good decision. Nevertheless, it took two years to get the verdict.
Is it right to take the people’s vote from one party and cross to another? When making the 19th amendment, an amendment was brought that if an M.P. crosses over, his seat would be abolished. Although Wijedasa Rajapaksa presented it, Dinesh Gunawardena asked if it could not be cancelled. Wijedasa removed it. There is a politics of crossing over for money, privileges and ministerial positions. The NPP government will bring in a law that will abolish the position of M.P. if he or she crosses. Some M.P.s take money not only to cross over but also to stay without jumping. This type of politics should be stopped. The NPP government promises to clean up this stinking arena.
Also, their politics is family-based. Looking at this election, Ex-President Mahinda’s son, Ex-President Premadasa’s son, and Ex-President J.R.’s son-in-law are contestants. I am the only one from outside. This family politics should be stopped. The Bandaranaike family was in power for 27 years. The Senanayakes ruled for more than a decade. J.R. and Ranil were there for about 20 years. For 76 years, four families have ruled the country. Districts are the same. Anuradhapura Mahindasoma, his younger brother, Lal Gamage, and his son are now there. Bertie Dissanayake’s son Duminda Dissanayake is their politics. It is the same in other districts. Did they build the country?
1950, South Korea earned two and a half million dollars by sending goods abroad. At the same time, we in Sri Lanka earned 42 million dollars by sending goods abroad. Today we earn 1200 million dollars while Korea earns 68,500 million dollars. Did these few family groups govern the country and build this country? The countries of the world passed us by. India, which had no manufacturing industry in the 1980s, is now going to the moon, making vehicles and producing eggs, seeds, and medicines needed in the Asian region.
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been in the government for 54 years. It has been 47 years since Ranil Wickramasinghe came to Parliament. This time is enough to build a country. India came forward in 54 years. These rulers destroyed the country. However, they were not destroyed. Even though it was difficult for the people, it was never difficult for them. When the house in Medavachchiya was not enough, they bought houses in Colombo, in the cold Nuwara Eliya, in the sand to be exposed to the wind, and in England to teach their children. Every minister has houses in Australia and England and apartments in Dubai. There is also a house in the village to do the election campaign. They did not build the country. They became rich. They will never build the country. If the people get independent economic strength, that means they will have a job; they can build a house to live in, be happy, and have a good source of income. Then they will not go after 10 kilos of rice Therefore, they want the people of the villages to remain in poverty all the time.
If you live in poverty, they will be able to divide and get votes. Saris, mammoties, food parcels, sill clothes, and boxes of matches were distributed and are being distributed. If people have means, they will not stand in line to collect a box of matches or a sari: food parcels, If you live in poverty, they will be able to divide and get your vote. Saris, They want to keep these villages in poverty all the time. If the village is poor, those guys can do their kind of politics. These governments are trying to impoverish the people and make the ruler rich.
We will build a country where rural people will be released from poverty. As a start, we will give a subsidy of Rs. 10,000 to 20,000. Can people live without food until 2048? The NPP will build the country, and the people will take care of it. We are starting a programme that will definitely provide education, health and food. Rural people should be brought out of poverty. Its main task is education. If the child learns and opens up to the world, the child is freed from the village economy. In our country, 30,000 children drop out of school every year from the first year to the tenth year. We will appoint several officers in each regional secretariat. Those officials are entrusted with investigating children who do not come to school for more than three consecutive days and bring that child to school. We will not allow a single child to drop out of school.
Our schools have a shortage of teachers who can teach English, Mathematics, and Science. Well-trained teachers who can teach the children will be appointed. Even today, there are 33,000 teacher vacancies in schools. There are 35,000 unemployed graduates out there. Education today is a burden for parents. In an NPP government, education will not be allowed to be a burden on parents. Education will be a government responsibility.
If the poverty of rural people is eradicated, the economy of rural people would improve. The leading economy of the people of Kabethigollawa is farming. Farming is not a losing business. Agriculture is subsidized in every country of the world. The government in India gives farmers free fuel and electricity. Best seeds should be provided to improve agriculture. Bringing seeds from abroad at a high cost and cultivating them is not fruitful. That’s why we must develop our seed research labs and find good seeds. Those seeds are improved on the farms. Those seeds are given to the farmers, and we get some farmers in villages to produce seeds. Some people grow it for food, and some people grow it for seed production. A programme is made to provide good seeds at low prices to the farmers, and the farmers are saved from the seed monopoly. On the other hand, input prices for agriculture are high. Prices of pesticides and fertilizers are high. This high price is unaffordable. When the oil was refined, insecticides were made from the by-products. The insecticide ‘Ceypetco’ was made at Sapugaskanda, Sri Lanka. Ranil Wickremasinghe closed them. That is why weed killers and insecticides must be imported from abroad today. As the dollar rises, so do their prices. Therefore, we re-commence research to make insecticides and herbicides. In 1982, fertilizer was produced from the by-products of Sapugaskanda oil refining. 50,000 metric tons were shipped to Pakistan. The fertilizer factory was in Ranil’s Biyagama constituency. Batalande’s torture chamber is the quarters of the fertilizer factory. Those factories were closed. We in the NPP are making the necessary programmes to provide agriculture inputs at reasonable prices. Post-harvest wastage in our crops is huge. In the cultivation, elephants eat and destroy. When vegetables and fruits are loaded, brought to Colombo, and sold, a large amount of the produce is wasted. If you take 100 kg of big onions, only 62 kg will be left. It is wasted when transported. This kind of waste does not happen anywhere in the world. There are packaging and storage programmes in the world to reduce product wastage. These rulers didn’t make any attempt to find new technology to be used in reducing wastage. We will have a programme in the NPP government to prevent waste of the harvest. Our products should be made to send not only to 22.18 million people in our country but also to people in other countries. We need to build export villages. It is not possible to grow only during yala and maha seasons and send them abroad. Our produce should be sent on a weekly basis throughout the year. Export agriculture should be modernized to harvest crops throughout the year.
The Netherlands has an area of only about 41,000 square kilometres, which is smaller than our country. However, the Netherlands is the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products. In our country, we get fertile soil, abundant rains, and good sunshine, which many other countries do not have. It is a country where agriculture can be developed. In order to free the rural people from poverty, the NPP will modernize agriculture.
That’s not enough. More economic opportunities should be created. We talked to our main industrialists. What industries and services can be started in the Anuradhapura district? There is a very good scope for the tourism industry in Sri Lanka. We need to create new economic opportunities. New opportunities are created by giving knowledge and wisdom to children. Then our villages start to improve. People in villages are freed from poverty. They can have good food, build a ventilated house, and be happy. We need to bring a smile to the faces of the people in our villages that do not have a smile today. The NPP will build a rich country and a beautiful life for the people. Families are destroyed today. The ties between these families should be increased and strengthened. There should be happiness in the families. The freedom that people had then is gone today. Religious devotion was lost. The righteous life was lost. Hatred and anger increased among people. The children are not safe in this society.
What we are going to have is not just a change of government. It is not about bringing a leader to replace a leader. Our plan is to build a society that brings smiles to lives. We will form a government that makes this life better. Parents are crying without confidence about their children’s future. We will build a government that will create a new future for children.
We will form a government that will transform agriculture into a developed one instead of the collapsed agriculture. That means a government that will change our country, enrich the country, and get the people to inherit a beautiful life. This must be done this time. The NPP will form a government that will bring a new life to the people. We need the power to implement our plans. There are people here who have voted for the elephant. Put that past aside. This is a force gathered to win the NPP.
Let’s all fight together. The final result of our efforts will be achieved only if the village ballot box is filled with the highest number of votes for ‘Malimawa’. Let’s do this successfully. A new government in Sri Lanka by September 22, a new regime, a government of National People’s Power. Let us all work for that; let’s work hard.”
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