Govt. confident of two third majority - Minister Rajitha Senaratne

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Construction and Engineering Services Minister Dr.Rajitha Senaratne said though the Government is very confident of getting a two-third majority at the General Election, the Opposition is trying to prevent it. This clearly shows how powerful and stable this Government is.

The Minister in an interview with the Sunday Observer said the JVP is trying their level best to go under a common symbol as they do not have any future in politics other than contesting under a common symbol by appealing to the vote bank of the UNP.

Q: Is the Government confident of obtaining a two-third majority at the April 8 General Election?

A: That is what we are planning. At the moment, the entire Opposition is in disarray. The entire Opposition which polled only four million votes at the Presidential Election is now shattered. I feel most UNPers will vote for the Government this time. Because they have no future with the UNP.

Some other hardcore UNPers will not go to the polling booth as they are frustrated. Therefore we can obtain the two-third majority. If we cannot obtain two-third, we can come closer to two-third majority.

Then we will definitely have the support of some more UNPers to give two-third majority to the Government to go ahead with the necessary legislation.

Q: What does the Government planning to do in terms of constitutional reforms if it gets a two-third majority?

A: That we have already promised in Mahinda Chintana Idiri Dekma. The Executive Presidency will be responsible to Parliament and the immunity given to the President will be done away with. Those are the two main draconian powers in the Executive Presidency. The President is ready to leave aside those powers.

This is what even General Sarath Fonseka promised at the last Presidential Election. We will not allow another person to do it. The President himself will do it. We also need two-third majority to change the present Parliamentary system.

Actually, the people are so worried about the present Parliamentary system rather than the Executive Presidency, because most of the people do not have a Parliament representative for their electorate.

It is also very difficult for a Parliamentarian to cater to the entire district.

This system should be changed. The present PR system will be amended and the First Past the Post System will be introduced.

Q: Can we expect a smaller Cabinet if that happens?

A: Definitely. We do not need a bigger Cabinet now, because the war is over now. So a small Cabinet will be enough and the President will select an efficient small Cabinet.

There won’t be Non-Cabinet Ministers and there will be only Deputy Ministers like in the past.

Q: There are many allegations from the UNP that those who joined the Government from the UNP have not been given due recognition in the nominations process. Is there any truth in it?

A: I categorically deny it. All the UNPers who joined the Government have been given nominations from the UPFA list wherever they wanted.

So everybody is happy. Therefore, this is a false allegation. Even the President at the last Cabinet meeting defended those who joined the Government and said that the Government is existing today because of them.

The President said we could also win the war because of the contribution made by these Parliamentarians who joined the Government from the UNP.

Q: Will the voters still be loyal to you despite joining the Government? In other words, will you be able to attract UNP voters?

A: Definitely. We started this with 17 MPs. Last time, the President received a majority of nearly one-and-half lakhs. This time it has increased to 1.8 million. That means about 1.7 million votes have increased due to the process stared by these 17 MPs at the beginning.

That means the most of the UNPers have voted for the Government. They will definitely vote for the Government at this time as well. Even the SLFPers have realised that because of our work, the Government exists and we could win the war.

We conducted a hectic campaign and did our level best for the President to achieve a landslide victory at the recently concluded Presidential Election. As a result we were highlighted so much and the people knew who was behind the election campaign.

Q: What do you think of the many new faces UPFA has introduced at the election? Is this a threat to veteran politicians like you?

A: Not at all. Every election, new faces are introduced and young people are accommodated at the nomination lists.

This time also the President wanted new faces mainly with some professionals and educated youth to run the Government next time. The voters should decide who should be elected to the Parliament.

Q: The Opposition alliance has split. The UNP is contesting under the elephant symbol again. Do you think it was a mistake by the UNP to give up the elephant at the last election?

A: At the last Presidential Election they thought that they can gain power by coming under a common symbol.

They introduced one Common Presidential Candidate from the Opposition. But this is not a similar situation. A large number of candidates are contesting the General Election representing the entire country.

So many candidates are contesting from different symbols other than the elephant symbol. This will be a big disadvantage to the UNP. If the UNP contests two elections with other symbols, there will be a problem for the elephant symbol.

The UNPers are always used to vote for the elephant symbol particularly the people in rural areas always ask for the elephant symbol not for the party name. Therefore, the elephant symbol is very important to the UNP.

The UNP is well aware if they join hands with the JVP under a common symbol, what happened to the SLFP candidates in 2004 Parliamentary Election will happen to the UNP candidates as well. Therefore, most of the UNP candidates and the UNP MPs are against joining hands with the JVP.

The JVP was trying their best to go under a common symbol as they do not have any future in politics other than contesting under a common symbol by appealing to the vote bank of the UNP.

The JVP does not have a vote bank at the moment. The JVP will be in a very bad situation when they contest the General Election using other symbol.

Q: Sarath Fonseka will be leading the JVP under the Trophy symbol. Will it make any impact at the election?

A: There won’t be any impact on it at the election. General Fonseka has turned into a discarded factor today. He is being exposed. At present, the JVP is so bankrupt and they are hanging on to a Military General who does not have any understanding or experience on politics.

The very same people who say that they are so experience in politics, the JVP is going behind a very inexperienced person. This is the true nature of opportunistic politics. That is very short-term. Last time the UNP and the JVP got together only for one factor.

They didn’t have any policy agreement. That is to hate against Rajapaksas. That was very short-term. That is why they have split into pieces at this time.

Q: Can the Opposition prevent the Government from getting a two-third majority? If the Government does not get a two-third, will it again rely on crossovers?

A: Today, the UNP is making an effort not to give two-thirds to the Government. When an Opposition party contests an election, they tell the people to vote for them to form a Government. This time the Opposition says vote for them not to give two-thirds to the Government.

The Government is very confident of getting a two-thirds majority and the Opposition struggle is not to give two-thirds to the Government. That clearly shows how powerful and stable this Government is.

Q: What is the position in the Kalutara district? Will the UPFA obtain an even bigger mandate?

A: Last time the UPFA got six seats and the JHU got one. This time we all have got together and we try to get the same seven seats. According to the PR system if there is a trend this time, we might even go for eight seats. The fate of the Opposition in Kalutara is none of the UNP or JVP MPs who entered Parliament in 2004 are any more with the UNP or the JVP. They are all with the Government.

Q: The people want solutions to the problems such as cost of living etc. Will a stronger Government be able to resolve these issues firmly?

A: This Government has resolved most of the problems. Even during the war, the President spearheaded development work. The President initiated almost all the major development work in this country. So we do not need to initiate any more development work for another 20 years. Despite the Government spending Rs.300 billion on war per year, it did not curtail any of the welfare measures.

The Government has given employment to 350,000 people. The Government increased the salaries of the public servants through 2006 and 2007 budgets by 50 percent. In 2008, the Government increased the salaries of the public servants by Rs.1,000.

This is the only Government which didn’t sell any of the Government ventures.

The cost of living is the only key existing problem in this country. At present, poverty has come down from 29 percent to 15 percent while unemployment has come down to 5 percent. All the economic factors are good.

With a strong Government, we will be able to tackle this cost of living issue. The Government will improve the foreign reserves in this country. We can also save a huge amount of money that goes to foreign countries by using many of our own projects.

We can earn a lot of foreign exchange as well. We will attract more foreign investors and tourists. With that our rupee will be strengthened and imported products prices will come down. That will solve the cost of living problem faced by the people within the next three or four years.

Q: What is the Government’s stance regarding the national issue?

A: Under the leadership of the President, the Government has eliminated terrorism. But we have to understand that terrorism is the result of the national question that we have to face. The national question still exists. We have to respect of the Tamils and Muslims in those areas.

We must show that we have defeated only the terrorists but not the Tamils or the Muslims. In order to give their due recognition, we have to give some solution to them. That is why the people like us say at least start with the implementation of the 13th amendment. The President says he is ready to give 13 Plus.

After the General Election with a strong Government and the elimination of so-called Sinhala extremists, we would be able to give a practical solution to the national question by consulting Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils where they all can live peacefully.

Q: Do you think the voters in the North and the East would give a more favourable response to the Government at the forthcoming General Election?

A: I think so based on many reasons. Last time, the TNA campaigned among Tamils and said they will form a Government and deliver results to the Tamil people specially to the IDPs.

The TNA showed that they are winning with Sarath Fonseka and would form a Government to help them. This time they do not have that slogan. They are not in a position to say they can win individually without supporting the Government.

Therefore, Tamils will not go behind the TNA. They need lot of help from the Government to sort out their problems. So the TNA is not an answer to them.

At present the TNA has split into three groups. Most of the TNA members have extended their support to the Government. Some have joined with politicians like Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne who represent the Ultra Left.

TNA is left with a few senior people. Therefore, Tamil people must be very frustrated of the TNA. Because of these two factors, most of the people will vote for the Government. The vote bank of the TNA will be very much less than last time.

Q: What is your message to voters in the North and the East who voted for the Opposition last time? Why should they vote for the Government this time?

A: They have been misled by the TNA and they had been brought to the traditional way of thinking. Now the Tamil people should think on how their problems can be accommodated along with the majority people in the majority Government. That is what they have to understand how they must workout for their future.

It is not a mere slogan. It is a practical work with Sinhalese and other communities on how they can get together and form one alliance and go ahead. I think the people in the North who suffered a lot during the past three decades due to terrorism will understand the real truth of this entire problem and come to settle down with the Government.

Q: The recent statement made by Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Maha Sangha has turned into a controversial issue and Maha Sangha has vehemently criticised this statement. Your comments?

A: When the Opposition Leader opens his mouth, he will loose so many of votes. At this time, he tried to describe what Buddhism is. But he will be hated by the Buddhists according to the manner he described Buddhism.

He does not know how to address Buddhist Monks or how to respect them. He should understand the culture of this country.

He should know Maha Sangha is one of the prominent factors in this country. We should highly respect Maha Sangha and other religious dignitaries as well.

If somebody does not respect them or try to analyse some issues in an absurd manner, this is what will happen to any such person. Ranil Wickremesinghe will never learn lessons.

He will just repeat it.