Minister of Urban Development and Housing, Prasanna Ranatunge, said that the decision of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) to field a separate candidate and refrain from supporting President Ranil Wickremesinghe was not the expectation of SLPP supporters.
Minister Ranatunge expressed these views in a letter sent to former President Mahinda Rajapakse today (31).
According to Minister Ranatunge, Sri Lanka is not in a position to experiment with a new leadership.
The full letter :
Our motherland has reached a very critical juncture today. As citizens who love our country, it is our duty and responsibility to think about the nation and our party members who have always supported us. His Excellency the President, my political mentor is my father, and my ideal political figure is none other than you. In 2015, when good governance was defeated, you, then Chief Minister of the Western Province, sacrificed to bring you back to power in accordance with my conscience. I still recall being motivated by the respect you earned for saving and uniting the country from a brutal, three-decade terrorist war. My respect and love for you remain unchanged today and will continue tomorrow.
In 2015, under my leadership, the “Mahinda Sulanga” platform was created for you. It is no secret that we, too, have faced various persecutions by our party members because of our initiative to bring you back into politics. His Excellency the President, there is no need to explain anew why he had to resign, despite our appointing President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in 2019 with the votes of 6.9 million people. After his resignation, Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as the successor President with your blessings and that of the party. We made the right decision at that moment based on two points: the economic crisis in the country and political instability. It was you and the party leadership who decided to appoint Ranil Wickremesinghe as President, and we supported your right decision.
I respectfully remind you that the lives and property of our party members were safe because of your decision that day. By implementing that decision, the economic crisis in the country has been addressed, and the country has recovered economically. It is undisputed that with your support to His Excellency the President, the country has been restored over the past two years.
His Excellency the President, I have always been involved in politics with the people. The people are always important to me. I believe that to protect the country and its citizens, the program being carried out by the present President should be continued. That is why more than 30 Pohottu MPs and Ministers in Parliament have asked you to support President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The country is not in a position to experiment or take risks. Such an experiment will not make any progress for the country and its citizens. Therefore, I believe that our duty and responsibility are to think about the country and reappoint Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe as the President. That is also the expectation of the people of my beloved Gampaha District.
The decision taken by the Political Committee of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) was not the expectation of the majority of SLPPmembers. I do not agree with that decision according to my conscience. Most of the people who were motivated by you for that decision were not motivated by their love for you or the party.
Therefore, Mr. President, as a man of conscience, I regret to inform you that I cannot agree with the party’s decision. Therefore, I dedicate myself to the victory of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
It was in accordance with that conscience that I stepped on the stage of ‘Mahinda Sulaga’ in Nugegoda for you. At the moment, I do not see any other option to protect our party members except by reappointing President Ranil Wickremesinghe. I do not see the country moving forward from the current situation except by reappointing Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe. Therefore, thinking about the country as I stood for you conscientiously then, I stand today for Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe’s victory.
I emphasize that this does not imply that I will leave SLPP or that I will take refuge in the UNP. I am still a SLPP member. You are still my ideal leader. I wish you a long and healthy life.
