Dullas appeals for restoring public trust in govt.

Anura alleges members were bought off

By Saman Indrajith

SLPP MP Dullas Alahapperuma yesterday told Parliament that politicians should work towards restoring people’s trust in the government.

Soon after the announcement of the results of the vote to elect a new President from Parliament, MP Alahapperuma, who received 82 votes out of 223 votes, thanked all those who had voted and did not vote for him.

“As politicians, it is our utmost duty to win back the trust of the people. I did not enter this fray with lofty dreams; I wanted to help the people. We tried to replace aristocratic politics with non-aristocratic politics. It is true that our attempt has failed. I have never betrayed my camp. I am not a rich man. Honesty should come before that. I congratulate the newly elected President and pray that sanity will prevail to listen to the call of hundreds of thousands of people who are frustrated with the political process,” Alahapperuma said.

JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who received only three votes at the election, said that the result was a distortion of the public opinion. “These results do not reflect the aspirations of the people. These results show a warped picture which does not tally with the prevailing public opinion,” the JVP leader said.

Dissanayake said that there had been political horse-trading during the last couple of days to change the results of the vote. “MPs sold themselves at various prices in return for their votes. I do not think that any such government formed against the wishes of the people has its political legitimacy to rule this country. Therefore an opportunity should be made for people to vote for a new government soon.”