Liberating country, development - plus points:

CNC expresses support to President

by P. Krishnaswamy

It is the bounden duty of every patriotic citizen in the country to return President Mahinda Rajapaksa to power at the January 26 Presidential Polls in the context of his historic contribution towards the restoration of peace, democracy and communal amity in the North and the East as well as the unprecedented level of development that has been launched under the Mahinda Chintana , said M. L. A. M. Hisbullah, Minister in the Eastern Provincial Council and National Organiser of the Ceylon National Congress (CNC), which is led by Minister Rishad Bathiudeen.

He said his party with a strong vote base in the Eastern and Northern Provinces with representation in Parliament, Provincial Councils and other Local Government bodies has already started its polls campaign. Every citizen with a conscience, irrespective of his/her linguistic, religious or political background, knows what President Mahinda Rajapaksa has done for the nation which went through a three-decade terrorist war.

He is our "Common Candidate" and he deserves to be re-elected even without having to step out of the President's House to address polls meetings, as an act of reciprocation and gratitude, Hisbullah said. The East is undergoing a rapid development phase, with people now living peacefully and they do not want the situation to reverse to the former state, Hisbullah said.

"Mutual suspicion among the different communities, killings, fear, chaos and widespread gun culture was the order of the day for three long decades in the Eastern Province, with day-to-day life crippled and uncertainty about the future looming large.

The President liberated the province from the grip of the LTTE, established the Provincial Council and restored communal harmony. The province, with all three communities living in equal demographic percentage, is now a place of communal amity and brotherhood," he said. Under long-term and short-term development programs, highways to other districts and roads to all remote villages are either being newly constructed or renovated.

Explaining the salient features of the development programs being launched under Mahinda Chintana , he said:

"A sum of Rs. 15 billion has been allocated for the roads. An amount of Rs. 10 billion has been allocated for electrifying the rural villages in the province. All schools in the province - about 1,000 in number - are now functioning and an adequate number of teachers have been appointed. All hospitals in the province are functioning with the appointment of more doctors and other staff.

"Life is peaceful with all assistance and financial support being provided to fishing, agriculture and other professions. Steps have been taken by the Provincial Council to mobilise all natural resources for the economic well-being of the people".