Dissolution of NWPC aimed at misleading people - Samal Senerath

Samal Senerath - North Western Province Opposition Leader-UNP

Q: What is your point of view on the Government's decision to dissolve the North Western Provincial Council?

This Provincial Council is scheduled to be dissolved only on May 18, 2009.

Yet before months to the deadline the Government decided to dissolve the council.

This is the first council to be dissolved. This is purely to gain political advantage by misleading the people. The Government states that this council is not stable. We cannot agree with that.

The budget was approved, policies were approved. It didn't have any problem of being unstable. This is purely to gain political advantages.

Q: What are the crucial problems your people are faced with?

None of the basic needs are fulfilled. This is the first council to be established under the 13th Amendment of the Constitution. Then the Chief Minister was Gamini Jayawickrama Perera. He laid a very solid foundation for the development of the Province.

It is so strong. But not a single new policy was added after the inception except for the increment made in salaries for the Cooperative workers. Many of those who are in leading positions accused the then Provincial Council of being useless.

The same set of people are now enjoying the benefits of the council. The present council has not tried to uplift the education levels. This political Leadership is not for the people.

Q: What makes you confident that people will rally around your party?

None of these councils represent the actual people's point of view. People's judgment will only emerge with a free and fair election. In the Eastern Province elections we saw how this happened.

The present ruling party doesn't have confidence to hold a free and fair election. The country's administration, law and order have become totally corrupted. It has come to a stage where people are fed up with the current political situation. In the present context people are moving away from the Government.

Q: Do you think your party will have a better plan?

We have to set up plans to strengthen the people. People have been misled by these politicians. People seem to be lost.

Q: Do you think under a UNP government people will be benefited more?

The UNP government also went through a war. Yet they were able to develop the country socially and economically. Villages where there were people who didn't know a single letter were made literate.

We have developed the education system, the health system; specially the conditions of the hospitals etc. We allowed innocent poor people to migrate and earn a good living.

When President Chandrika Bandaranaike came in to power she took the policies and implemented them under different names. The concepts are the same.

Q: How do you intend to reawaken your people and the area?

We need to strengthen the people economically. Agriculture needs to be developed. We have to create a future generation who are creative and innovative. Under a leadership which is corrupt and which never a thief, never encouraged fraud we can definitely reawaken the society. We have a respected politician as a leader.