JVP claims it is ready to govern country

“Both Ranil and SLPP have no popular mandate” – Tilvin

JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said, on Sunday, that his party-led NPP was ready to form the next government.

Speaking at a rally in Bandaragama, Silva said that Ranil Wickremesinghe was a dud coin in Sri Lankan politics “Ranil rules the country, thanks to the SLPP MPs who elected him the President. Both Ranil and the SLPP have no mandate from the people, who ousted him in elections after 45 years of politics. He is now hell-bent on delaying elections. He is trying to emulate his uncle, JR Jayewardene, in postponing elections. He should understand that the times have changed. People have come a long way from the times his uncle put off the elections. They have learnt to overlook their political allegiances and realized who is responsible for their plight. They are rallying around the NPP banner.

“People are made to part with one-third of their earnings as taxes. Many bankers, in senior posts, are leaving their jobs because they can fathom the consequences of imposing such taxes. Many professionals are leaving the country because they cannot pay these taxes. Everyone who earns more than Rs 100,000 now has to pay a tax between six percent and 36 percent. While the taxes are mounted on people there is an unprecedented inflation. People can no longer put up with this government.

“The Opposition leader, too, goes on making various statements, in rallies countrywide. If you listen to his speeches you can see he has no single policy. His party did not oppose a single anti-public Bill this government brought into Parliament the last several months. He and his men voted with the government to pass all of them. His men now look at the government and then again at SJB. They are in two worlds. The SJB, too, is now a spent-force.

“An SLPP female member of the Colombo Municipal Council has sold a V-8 luxury vehicle belonging to a notorious monk. The Council member, as her excuse, says she had given Rs 50 million to a business on the advice of the monk and lost it and therefore she took over the monk’s vehicle. From where did she earn that money? Imagine how much money the Rajapaksas have when a Municipal Council member, of the same party, could survive the loss of Rs 50 million in a deal. This country is in the present plight not because of any other economic reason but because these rulers have stolen the people’s money,” Silva said.

JVP’s former Kalutara District MP, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, said that the government, and the main Opposition SJB, from time to time state that they have the people with them. “All they need to do is to hold an election and thereafter the entire world could see how many votes each would get. Only the JVP-led NPP could save this country from the present crisis. Only we have the right plan and discipline to do that. In 1994, both Sri Lanka and Vietnam had similar export earnings. Their export income for the month of August this year alone was at 31 billion US dollars. Our annual export income now is 12 billion US dollars. This country is in the present crisis because the rulers lined their pockets without giving any regard to the plight of the people,” Dr. Jayatissa said.

Secretary of the NPP Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe also addressed the rally.