No intention to desert UNP - Sujeewa Senasinghe

By Jaliya Wijekoon

Democracy is considered to be the best form of government and almost all developed, developing and even under-developed countries govern their states based on democratic policies and principles. The main feature of democracy is the multi-party system and since Sri Lanka won Independence, the country had been ruled by the two main political parties, the United National Party (UNP) and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and their coalitions. The two parties have different policies and principles and maintain different identities.

The United National Party had been a formidable political force in the country since its inception, never remaining in the Opposition for more than one parliamentary term, prior to 1994. However, since 1994, the UNP's performance in the political arena had deteriorated at every successive election and at present, is at a deplorable level.

The Sunday Observer had an exclusive interview with Colombo district Parliamentarian Sujeewa Senasinghe to ascertain the present position of the party, its political activities and future course of action with regard to the next elections.

Excerpts:

Q: You are not from a political family and you had been born with a silver spoon in your mouth. What made you take to politics, leaving your lucrative profession?

A: Yes, I am the fourth generation lawyer in the Senasinghe family and all my family members are professionals. I have studied the history of this country and I have been impressed with the performances of our great leaders such as D.S. Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake, Sir John Kotelawala and J.R. Jayewardene and then with the work of Ranasinghe Premadasa, Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali who did a yeoman service to the nation. So, I was naturally dragged into UNP politics.

I was introduced to the late Gamini Athukorala by Nissanka Nanayakkara and then I was influenced by Upul Jayasooriya and Faizer Musthapha to become involved in politics. I contested the PC elections in 2004 and in 2010, I was elected to Parliament from the Colombo district, scoring over 50,000 preference votes.

Political force

Q: Your party, which used to be a dominant and powerful political force in the past, has been reduced to a deplorable level at successive elections. What is the reason for this gradual deterioration of the party?

A: The answer is very clear. The reason is the LTTE. Prabhakaran realised that with leaders of the calibre of Ranjan Wijeratne, Lalith Athulathmudali, Ranasinghe Premadasa, Gamini Dissanayake, Dr. Gamini Wijesekera and G.M. Premachandra, that it would be impossible for him to achieve his ends. So he exterminated all our ablest lieutenants in the party which led to the gradual demoralisation of our grass roots level membership; that was the root cause of our downfall.

Q: Your present leader Ranil Wickremesinghe formed a government in 2001, but couldn't continue due to various shortcomings. What have you got to say about that?

A: Yes, he formed a government when the Executive Presidency was held by Chandrika Kumaratunga. The economy had reduced to an abysmal level of minus 1.5 at that time. He managed to resurrect the economy within one year, but was compelled to cut down on welfare measures and subsidies while controlling State recruitment. He negotiated an easy repayment loan facility of USD 4.5 billion from the World Bank to run the country smoothly with the Regaining Sri Lanka concept. Then the JVP and some unscrupulous political elements realised that it would be politically suicidal for them and pressurised President Kumaratunga to dissolve the Government immediately.

They carried out a malicious campaign against the UNP and we were defeated. Even at the subsequent elections, the UNP lost due to the nefarious activities committed by the LTTE.

Internal conflicts

Q: But now the general belief is that the UNP cannot win elections due to its internal conflicts. Your comments please?

A: It is quite natural that internal problems arise in any political party when it has been stagnant in the Opposition for a long time. My personal view is that we should go for a complete and comprehensive change in the entire party mechanism, to give it a new lease of life. Temporary patchwork will not fully revive the party.

Q: Do you mean to say that you have no faith on the recently formed Leadership Council?

A: I am fully supportive of the Leadership Council, provided it conforms to the legitimate requirements which we have spelt out very clearly at the outset such as the chairmanship of the Working Committee to be vested with the Chairman of the Leadership Council. The other main factor that all leaders of the party should be brought under the umbrella of the Leadership Council with equal powers. Unity is extremely important in the party in its forward march.

Q: You had been a very vociferous speaker who openly criticised some party issues without any fear or favour. Don't you think that they would lead to the displeasure of your party hierarchy?

A: Well, this is how I have been brought up and I always call a spade a spade. I have nothing personal against anybody and I like to see justice meted out on all matters. Yes, I am sorry to state that I have been unduly victimised by the party hierarchy on a number of occasions. I do not hold any position in the party. I am only a co-organiser of the Kaduwela electorate although I am fully committed and dedicated to the forward march of the party amidst a number of problems.

Q: Speculation is rife that you would be the next person to cross over to the Government and contest the Chief Ministerial post in the Western Provincial Council (WPC) under the UPFA. Is there any truth in this?

A: Many media people have been asking me the same question recently and I am surprised over this and have clearly stated my stand. I shall never think of deserting my beloved party even in my wildest dreams. I shall remain in the UNP and fight for justice and fair play and restore the lost glory of our party at a future election, sorting out all minor disputes.

Allegations

Q: There are allegations against you that you are involved in some prime land deals in Colombo and also with the Krrish project? What have you got to say about that?

A: Yes, I know why, what and who are behind this malicious campaign against me. I tried to expose the corrupt activities of some people who were involved in multi-million dollar deals in the city. Therefore, they try to silence me by resorting to this type of futile campaign.

I am not the least bothered or disturbed over these false and unfounded allegations and I shall never cease my campaign against the real culprits who are plundering the national wealth.

Q: Your party stalwarts say that they are very confident of forming a UNP government at the next general election. As a straightforward person, do you agree with this?

A: Definitely yes. We have been gradually and steadily sorting out our shortcomings and are engaged in re-organisational activities. With the financial difficulties suffered by the people due to the high cost of living today, lack of welfare measures in the health and education sectors and some scarcities in the agriculture sector, it is not difficult for us to mobilise the masses and win a future election to form a UNP government.