Govt reiterates pledge to develop N-E

by Shanika SRIYANANDA

The Government has reiterated that it will continue its efforts to develop the North and the East.

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake told the Sunday Observer that the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government, which saved those in the North and the East from LTTE terror, will continue to give priority and pump more money to develop the North and the East though they had voted for the Opposition.

“Just because they were misled for political gains, we can’t overlook their development. There are many development projects on the cards under the Mahinda Chinthana Idiri Dakma to develop the North and the East”, he said.

Prime Minister Wickramanayake said that the voting pattern in the former LTTE held areas, where the majority of Tamils voted for the Opposition candidate, clearly indicated there was a secret pact between the Opposition and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). “No doubt, the main cause for the Northern and Eastern people to vote for the Opposition was the pact they had signed with the TNA,” he said.

He said that as a responsible Government under the leadership of President Rajapaksa, people of the North and the East would benefit equally by the development programs.

Referring to the national problem, he said that the President will soon present a solution that would be agreed upon by all political parties.