President Maithripala Sirisena is today walking a political tightrope by finding solutions to the people’s problems while protecting SLFP policies and the unity of the two parties strengthening the National Unity Government at the same time, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.
He was addressing a meeting of the Badulla Electorate SLFP Bala Mandalaya held at the Badulla Postal Department Auditorium on April 23.
The Minister said the people are not accustomed to the system of national government even though the two main political parties have joined together to experiment it successfully. One had to admit that President Sirisena won the presidential election with the support of UNP votes because a vast ratio of SLFPers did not vote for him at that time.
Today, the President had been able to safeguard and strengthen the SLFP and find solutions to the people’s problems by protecting the two party unity, he said.
Minister de Silva said the SLFP Central Committee after President Sirisena won the election unanimously decided that the party should join the government. After that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa handed over the party chairmanship to President Sirisena as everyone knows.
Minister de Silva said they could not leave the party once President Sirisena took over the SLFP leadership because they have always stood by the party and its hand symbol.
“We will be in the SLFP till death do us part,” he said.
This did not mean that they opposed any individual, he said.
He said that in 1956, the late Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike broke the shackles of feudalism and formed a people’s government. As products of the 1956 revolution, they would never change the party because they never desired to break it up. It was the duty of all to rally round the SLFP and protect and safeguard it.
Solutions could never be found to problems by leaving the party and forming other parties or groups, he said.
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