Choice on Aug 5: Luxurious meals for Gota, Mahinda or three daily meals for the poor- Ranil

By Zacki Jabbar 

Leader of the UNP Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Sunday (2) that the people were left with just two choices before casting their votes at the general election, scheduled for tomorrow.

 Addressing the UNP’s final election rally amidst intermittent showers in Colombo Central, Wickremesinghe said that the people had to decide if they would continue to let President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, keep enjoying luxurious meals for life or obtain three meals a day for themselves, which most people were struggling to find.

Wickremesinghe, like many speakers before him, including Assistant Leader Ravi Karunanayake, stressed that Wednesday’s election was a contest between the UNP and the Podujana Peramuna. 

 The nine-month history of broken promises and suffering under the Gotabaya-Mahinda government was only too well known to require repetition, he noted, pointing out that the main issue to be addressed was uplifting the home economy, which the Rajapaksas had proved they were incapable of doing.

 Wickremesinghe recalled that the UNP had time and again demonstrated since Independence, that it was the only party capable of reviving the economy, which its predecessors had ruined by implementing wrong short-sighted policies.

 “We are once again left with the task of reviving the economy, which the Rajapaksas have destroyed within a short period of nine months. But we are equal to task of again freeing the people from the sufferings that has been heaped on them”, he underscored.

 Wickremesinghe urged the people to vote for the historic “Elephant” symbol, which he described as a force still to be reckoned with and re-elect the UNP that had always been the party of the common masses, so that it could serve them better.

 “Before casting your ballot, you have just one question to answer” he said – “Do I vote for the UNP and ensure that me and my family have three meals a day and savings in hand or allow only the Rajapaksas to enjoy luxurious meals and heaps of money for generations to come?”